My research goals have been largely motivated by clinical concerns. After practicing medicine for a period, I moved into bench research, especially feeling that advances in basic science are needed to support care with respect to brain disorders. In this context, my long-standing interests have been in stem cells and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease (PD). I have significant expertise with a variety of stem cells and with cellular/animal models of neurodegeneration, which have been applied over the past several years towards understanding PD pathogenesis as well as developing novel therapeutics. Current endeavors in my laboratory focus on investigating stem cell potential within the framework of ageing and neurodegeneration utilizing patient relevant human and animal systems. Within this framework, the lab has discovered a major mechanism controlling the activity of brain stem cells during ageing. This finding has important implications with regards to how the brain’s own regenerative potential can be harnessed to address ageing and PD. Moreover, the lab has also developed powerful tools, involving human fibroblasts and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), to advance PD diagnostics and therapeutics. Finally, although focused on PD, our work has broad implications across several other neurological disorders. Such an applicability allows for a unique cross-pollination and collaboration with a range of other scientists to develop meaningful real-world applications.