Students committed to the search for a cure for Parkinson’s disease

With their long-standing passion for the sciences, Alexandre Lemieux and Reda Bensaidane hope to one day work in the field. However, they decided to get involved right away in the search for a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Because it is believed that the disease is caused by the loss of neurones that produce dopamine, an essential neurotransmitter that regulates movement, Alexandre and Reda chose to experiment with the production of dopamine-producing neurones using stem cells derived from human skin, potentially transplantable to the brain of Parkinson’s patients. Impressed by their work, Dr. François Berthod invited them to the Laboratoire d'organogénèse expérimentale. In collaboration with the in-house team, they worked relentlessly in their free time for eight months and succeeded in obtaining such amazing and significant results that they came in third place in their category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world’s biggest scientific competition open to students under the age of 21 that was held in Los Angeles in May 2011. Without doubt these committed young people stand apart for their sense of initiative, scientific maturity, intelligence and enthusiasm.

Un espoir pour la maladie de Parkinson
Cégep de Sainte-Foy