Arjan Kortholt, PhD

Arjan Kortholt, PhD, is an associate professor of cell biology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Dr. Kortholt’s research is aimed at therapeutically targeting LRRK2-mediated Parkinson’s disease (PD) by elucidating the structure, activation mechanism and function of LRRK2 and the family of proteins to which it belongs. Using his expertise in biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology, Dr. Kortholt is exploring how LRRK2 is activated by interacting with other cell components, and he has designed and synthesized molecules that downregulate LRRK2 activity. Dr. Kortholt received his PhD in chemistry from the University of Groningen in 2009. In 2009, he received a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and continued his postdoctoral training at the Max-Planck-Institut for Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany until 2010, when he joined the faculty at the University of Groningen.