In this session of Dr. Gilbert Hosts, special guests Dr. Alice Lazzarini, Dionne Phillips, Pamela Quinn, and JM Tolani shared their expertise and experiences from decades with Parkinson’s disease. When facing a disease like Parkinson’s, it can help to talk with people who have “been there” – people who understand what it’s like to live every day with PD, who have already navigated some of the pitfalls and obstacles you’re wondering about, and who can share their honest advice and personal experiences.
Watch the broadcast now on APDA’s YouTube Channel and be sure to subscribe to the APDA’s YouTube channel for more informative and important resources for Parkinson’s disease:
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Dr. Alice Lazzarini is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Neurology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. Between 1996 through 2006, she and her team identified PARK1 as the first Parkinson’s disease-causing mutation in the alpha-synuclein protein. In 2004, Alice realized she was developing the very disease for which she helped to find a causative gene and she chronicles her career and diagnosis in her memoir Both Sides Now: A Journey From Researcher to Patient.
Dionne Phillips is an elementary school teacher in Chicago, Illinois and has been living with Parkinson’s disease for ten years. She underwent deep brain stimulation to help her symptoms and is eager to answer your questions about living with PD and about DBS.
Pamela Quinn danced professionally for twenty years and has had Parkinson’s for even longer. She founded the PD Movement Lab for people with Parkinson’s in NYC. Her work has been featured numerous times in the media and at universities and international conferences. In 2019, she received a prestigious fellowship from Dance/USA for the social impact of her choreography.
JM Tolani is a photographer who has been living with PD for the last 16 years. Prior to his diagnosis, he worked as a freelance photojournalist, traveling to very remote parts of the world to document humans in motion. He lives in New York City and enjoys dancing as a way to help his PD symptoms.