9 April 2021

Associate Professor Antony Cooper from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research is a cell and molecular biologist / geneticist with strong interests in elucidating how cellular dysfunction results in human diseases, with a specific interest in neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s Disease. His research on neurodegenerative diseases focuses on understanding the basis of Parkinson’s Disease. Watch his story in the video below.

[Music plays and an image of Professor Antony Cooper walking through a corridor appears on screen]

Professor Antony Cooper: I’m head of the Division of Neuroscience here at the Garvan Institute, and my lab predominantly focuses on Parkinson’s disease.

[Image changes to show Associate Professor Antony Cooper, The Garvan Institute of Medical, talking to the camera]

In Australia there’s probably well over a 100,000 people who suffer from this disease and the disease is very progressive in nature,

[Image changes to show the camera panning around a laboratory type setting]

it just keeps getting worse and worse.

[Image changes back to show Associate Professor Antony Cooper talking to the camera]

The existing symptoms get worse and new symptoms arise.

[Image changes back to show a female colleague in a laboratory type setting]

It’s urgent that we make some discoveries to really understand this disease and NHMRC provides us with the funding to make those discoveries, to answer those questions.

[Image changes back to show Associate Professor Antony Cooper talking to the camera and then back to the laboratory where tests are being conducted]

For maybe 90 per cent of patients we actually don’t understand what’s causing the disease,

[Image changes back to show Associate Professor Antony Cooper talking to the camera]

we have some ideas, but we don’t know, and without knowing that we can’t find out how to stop it or treat it effectively.

[Music plays and NHMRC logo appears on screen with text beside it: Building a Healthier Australia]

End of transcript.

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