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Dr. Luk received his BSc (Microbiology and Immunology) and Ph.D. (Pathology) from McGill University. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a Masters in Translational Research from Penn in 2013. He is currently a Research Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Penn Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research. Dr. Luk’s research aims to untangle the relationship between the formation of alpha-synuclein pathology that characterizes Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related disorders (e.g. Dementia with Lewy Bodies), as well as its contribution to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. Using a multidisciplinary approach spanning in vitro, cell-based, and in vivo models, his team interrogates the mechanisms by which this protein misfolds into pathological agents that self-propagate capable of transmitting from cell-to-cell. The group has developed several novel cells- and animal-based models of synucleinopathy that are widely used in the field. This knowledge base has also been leveraged towards developing innovative tools for detecting neurodegeneration-related proteins and to evaluating new therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.