Thomas Durcan is an associate professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute (The Neuro) and director of The Neuro’s Early Drug Discovery Unit. His research focuses on understanding the cell biology behind neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). His group at The Neuro uses the genome-editing tool CRISPR to develop imaging-based assays in brain cells derived from stem cells to advance our understanding of the causes of PD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neurodevelopmental disorders. His overall goal is to better understand why these diseases occur, while applying this insight towards the development of a translational program with industry partners to accelerate access to novel and next generation therapies for individuals living with neurodegenerative disorders. His research is supported by a range of funders, including Brain Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CFREF/Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives, The Michael J. Fox foundation, Parkinson’s Canada and the U.S. Department of Defense.