The Barker / Williams-Gray Lab

19/02/2026

We kindly received Watch your step, Mr Parkinson! by Frank Snowy Stinson

This book is a personal story of life with Parkinson’s. It is educational, encouraging and honest, touching on many issues of relevance to all those who are impacted by 'Parkee', but most importantly written by those directly touched by the disease.

Find the book here: https://www.watchyourstep.com.au/

16/02/2026

Our annual Parkinson's Disease Open day was on Saturday 14th February, which was a great success 🎉 We had talks about ongoing research projects, ways to get involved, and a patient perspective. A huge thank you to everyone involved with set up, speakers and all who attended!!

16/02/2026

See here all the Parkinson's UK Cambridge Branch activities for 2026. Roger will be talking at the Branch on 28th August 10:30 – 12:30! Do come along, all are welcome ☺️

Branch Meeting: This is a gathering of approximately 40-50 members and Branch volunteers; new members are always welcome. A long-established group of volunteers provides light refreshments on arriv…

16/02/2026

Registration and abstract submission are still open for the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting! It will take place in Montréal, Canada, 8-11 July 2026.

Roger has now joined the Plenary Speaker line-up, He will be talking in 'Plenary IV: clinical advances and the promise for patients'. This session brings together scientists, clinicians, and industry leaders to share advances in cell therapy, gene editing, and transplantation, including a real-world patient perspective.

For more information:

An international gathering of the brightest minds in stem cell research and regenerative medicine across disciplines. Join us for the 2026 ISSCR Annual Meeting 8-11 July 2026 in Montréal, Canada.

12/02/2026

On Tuesday 27th January Roger undertook the first of the Research Spotlight series 2026 with the World Parkinson Coalition, chatting to Simon Lewis about his research on Freezing of Gait.

See the interview here:

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

12/02/2026

Roger spoke for CNS: The Cambridge Neurological Society on Tuesday!

He discussed how to take dopamine cell therapies to the clinic in Parkinson's Disease.

Follow Cam Neuro Soc ( Instragram) to get updates on monthly talks, all neurology and neurosurgery related.

11/02/2026

Roger was a keynote speaker at the Open Targets Science Symposium being held at the Wellcome Genome Campus yesterday. He was talking about the trials and tribulations of dopamine cell therapies for Parkinson's disease at this hybrid meeting and had a wonderful time discussing all this with a highly interactive audience.

06/02/2026

Sadly one of our patients Sally Beaman died. She had had Parkinson's disease and over £6000 was raised for research for Parkinson's UK in memory of her.

I also just wanted to say from my perspective that Sally was one the kindest and least complaining patients that I have ever had the pleasure of looking after in over 40 years of medical practice. She was always such a delight to chat to and I shall greatly treasure all the poems she sent me as well as the odd photo. She always cheered and brightened up my day and taught me so much about how to deal with medical problems. I shall always remember her with great affection.

02/02/2026

Great session at the EHDN Platform Meeting - Is it time to target inflammation in Huntington's disease?

Roger gave an excellent presentation on “Inflammation in Huntington’s disease – Is there a case for it?”, which paired well with a fantastic talk on Biomarkers from Niels Henning Skotte. This set the scene for a great expert panel discussion chaired by Prof. Maria Björkqvist.

If you’re interested, check out our paper on inflammation in Huntington’s disease:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13543784.2024.2348738

30/01/2026

The recording for AD/PD™ Live Research Spotlight: "Phase I trial of hES cell-derived dopaminergic neurons for PD" is now available!
This session highlighted early clinical trial evidence on stem cell–derived dopaminergic neuron transplantation for Parkinson’s disease and its potential to transform treatment.

To watch first create an account: https://unlok-education.com/ad-pd
Then follow the link: https://adpd.unlok-education.com/ #/online-courses/362a72fd-d001-465e-b065-dcc9fd0efe1a

26/01/2026

Roger is speaking in the upcoming AD/PD™ Live Research Spotlight: "Phase I trial of hES cell-derived dopaminergic neurons for PD"!

📅 29 January at 16:00 CET
🎓 Free and open to all healthcare professionals.
🔗 Register via link in bio: https://invt.io/1fxbcn6lk1z

This session highlights early clinical trial evidence on stem cell–derived dopaminergic neuron transplantation for Parkinson’s disease and its potential to transform treatment.

Research Spotlight Session: Phase I trial of hES cell-derived dopaminergic neurons for PD

26/01/2026

You can keep up to date with the World Parkinson Coalition with eNews, see below the January eNews! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/january-enews-world-parkinson-congress-90jme/?trackingId=MmqTxN3hQlKwrMet3aTSbw%3D%3D
It has community updates and updates on the 7th World Parkinson Congress happening in Phoenix in May 24th to 27th this year, anyone with an interest in Parkinson's is encouraged to come along!

As we begin the New Year, we are just 136 days away from the 7th World Parkinson Congress—an exciting moment as we also honor the 20th anniversary of WPC. It’s a time to renew our commitment to advocacy and to the remarkable global community that connects us all.