Ignacio Mata

Background

About Ignacio Mata

Dr. Mata's lab is working towards identifying and understanding the genes that play a role in those diseases that affect the brain (neurological disorders). These include the very well-known Parkinson’s disease (PD), but also other less common disorders such as a form of PD that presents with severe cognitive problems/dementia (PDD) and another type of dementia called Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Identifying these genes is very important as they represent candidates for novel therapies that can help treat these disorders. Dr. Mata is very aware of the lack of diversity in genetic studies and his lab tries to include patients from all ethnicities. For this reason he created and coordinates a huge effort to study Latino populations, the Latin American Research consortium on the Genetics of PD (LARGE-PD). This consortium is trying to understand if these genetic factors are the same between populations or specific of certain populations. This will be a key factor to include patients from all different genetic backgrounds in genetic-based personalized treatments. The opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect Cleveland Clinic or Lerner Research Institute.