Rita Caridade
Visiting PhD student
As a third-year Ph.D. student, I have been challenging the idea that symptomatic and disease-modifying therapies for PD could be approached with a rejuvenating combinatorial tactic able to tackle simultaneously different disease mechanisms and cell types. My research focuses on PD mechanisms and circuitries to develop innovative strategies for modulating its onset and progression. Drug repurposing is a key approach, offering new applications for approved or investigational drugs beyond their original indications. Given the lack of neuroprotective or disease-modifying therapies for PD, my Ph.D. project employs a multimodal strategy, combining the potential of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and Felodipine (FEL) to modulate the affected brain parenchyma and compromised dopaminergic neurons.