Michael Henderson is a neuroscientist whose focus is on the impact of protein pathologies and genetic risk factors on the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. He earned his BSc in biological science from Florida State, followed by a PhD in neuroscience from Yale University. He conducted his doctoral research in the lab of Dr. Sreeganga Chandra and moved to the University of Pennsylvania for his postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research with Drs. Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski. In 2020, Dr. Henderson joined Van Andel Institute’s Center for Neurodegenerative Science as an assistant professor. Dr. Henderson has made several seminal contributions to Parkinson’s disease research, including the identification of a molecular signature linked to Lewy pathology formation, the demonstration that alpha-synuclein pathology progression is constrained by anatomical connectivity and regional vulnerability in the brain and the demonstration that glucocerebrosidase acts as a modulator of alpha-synuclein pathogenesis.