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It’s with great pleasure that we introduce the Science Ambassadors for the 7th World Parkinson Congress. We have selected ten Ambassadors from six countries who speak six different languages between them and who have been researching Parkinson's for more than 96 years combined.
They have all attended at least one World Parkinson Congress and found the WPC experience to be life-changing and something they want other scientists to experience. Ambassadors will work as part of our outreach team as we plan for the 7th World Parkinson Congress in Phoenix, Arizona from May 24 – 27, 2026. Their focus leading up to the Congress is to help drive up participation of scientists to attend the WPC.
The WPC is a premiere Parkinson’s learning experience for scientists and we want to make sure they get the WPC on their radar and make it a priority to submit research to present in Phoenix. We need to ensure more scientists are in Phoenix to help us move the dial on advancing knowledge around Parkinson’s and getting us closer to a cure.
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Elena Berti, MPsych (Italy): After completing classical studies and a brief artistic career as a dancer at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Elena pursued a fulfilling academic path, earning two degrees and becoming a Clinical Psychologist, seeking to expand her skills and training. She obtained certification as a Mindfulness Instructor (MBSR) and Compassionate Mind Trainer(CMT). As a caregiver for a family member with Parkinson's disease, her interest in this specific field of study grew over time and became deeply personal. Elena is pursuing her ongoing PhD in Neuroscience at Tor Vergata University in Rome, where she has dedicated her research interest and activities to PD. Elena also collaborates with national nonprofit organizations like ParkinZone and international ones like FuerteVida Parkinson No Limits (Canary Islands), where she supports holistic therapeutic programs and works on scientific research protocols. She is now committed to the World Parkinson Congress (WPC) as a Science Ambassador, looking forward to advocating for the often-overlooked mental health struggles of those living with the disease and those who support them, driven by the hope of offering comfort and understanding amid hardship.
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Sarah Davies, PhD (Australia): Sarah is an Associate Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She is an experienced Occupational Therapist who transitioned into research following a clinical career spanning nearly two decades. Throughout her clinical career, Sarah has worked with people with Parkinson's disease in Australia and the United Kingdom, giving her a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges faced by this population. Sarah's research centers around holistic interventions to improve performance in daily life activities, aiming to improve functional and participation outcomes for people with Parkinson's Disease. As an early career researcher who completed her PhD in 2024, Sarah hopes to make a lasting impact for people with Parkinson's Disease through her clinical, research, and teaching contributions, and collaborations with Parkinson's Organisations including Parkinson's Queensland and Fight Parkinson's. Sarah presented her research at the WPC in Barcelona and is delighted to be on the team of science ambassadors for WPC 2026.
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 Carina Hellqvist, PhD (Sweden): Carina is a registered nurse (RN) and a Parkinson’s disease nurse specialist at the Department of Neurology at Linköping University Hospital in Sweden. She has been dedicated to providing nursing care and support specifically targeted towards individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and their families for over a decade. In 2020, she earned her PhD with a thesis focusing on patient education for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and how self-management can be supported through educational interventions. Her current research focuses on e-health solutions and new models of providing care tailored to the individual needs of patients and also on community care for persons with Parkinson’s disease who require care interventions in their homes. Carina also serves as a senior lecturer at Linköping University, where she coordinates the education of specialist nurses in NeuroCare. She is honored to accept the role of WPC Scientific Ambassador and is a strong advocate for uniting the global Parkinson’s community to enhance patient care, support, and scientific progress in the field.
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 Paulo Henrique Silva Pelicioni, PhD (Australia): Dr Pelicioni is a physiotherapist by background and a lecturer at the School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia, and an honorary research fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia. Dr. Pelicioni conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of physiotherapy, human movement sciences, and neuroscience, focused on preventing falls in people with Parkinson’s. His fields of expertise and current areas of interest include understanding the mechanisms of falls in people with Parkinson’s, developing and optimizing clinical tools for neurological assessments and neurorehabilitation, equity in Parkinson’s care, and understanding the function of Parkinson’s brain. Dr. Pelicioni also coordinates a support group for people with Parkinson’s in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia, in partnership with Parkinson's NSW".
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Priscila Delgado Hodges, MS, CGC (USA): Priscila Delgado Hodges, MS, CGC, joined the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine in May 2020. She earned her Master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University in 2015 and brings nearly a decade of experience in bilingual prenatal genetic counseling within multicultural settings. Currently, Priscila provides bilingual genetic counseling to participants in Parkinson’s disease research, ensuring culturally sensitive care for diverse populations. As a strong advocate for outreach in the Hispanic/Latino community, she plays a vital role in expanding access to genetic services and increasing research participation among these populations. Her dedication to bridging healthcare gaps and promoting inclusivity drives her efforts to enhance care and representation for underserved communities, particularly within the Parkinson’s community.
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Chirine Katrib, PhD (France): Driven by a deep fascination for the brain and its complexities, Chirine dedicated her academic journey to Neuroscience, focusing on the origins, progression, and potential therapies for Neurodegenerative diseases. After completing her PhD on imaging biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease, she sought a role that bridges scientific research with the lived experiences of people with Parkinson’s (PwP). Today, she serves as a Project Manager at France Parkinson, the national association for Parkinson’s disease in France, where she oversees research grants and leads scientific outreach initiatives. Her work is driven by a commitment to aligning scientific advancements with patient needs, research funding, and public health strategies. Together with her team at France Parkinson, and much like the World Parkinson Coalition's mission, she strives every day to connect researchers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, caregivers, and PwPs, fostering collaborations that advance Parkinson’s research and care.
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Patrick Lewis, BSc, PhD (UK): Patrick has been investigating the causes of neurodegeneration for two decades, working on Alzheimer’s disease, the Prion diseases, and, since 2005, Parkinson’s disease. He studied biochemistry at the University of Manchester, working for a year at the Mayo Clinic in Florida with Dr Todd Golde on the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. He then undertook graduate studies at the MRC Prion Unit, studying Scrapie and Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, before moving to the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda where he began working on the cell biology of Parkinson's disease. Patrick returned to the UK in 2007 to take up a Brain Research Trust fellowship at the UCL Institute of Neurology. From 2010 to 2015 he was a Parkinson’s UK research fellow, investigating mutations in the LRRK2 gene, starting his own group at the University of Reading in 2013 as an Associate Professor. Patrick moved to the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2020.
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 Roberta Marongiu, PhD (USA): Dr. Roberta Marongiu is an assistant professor of genetics and neuroscience in Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, with secondary appointments in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Institute and the Department of Genetic Medicine. Dr. Marongiu trained as a researcher working with world-renowned, leading experts in Parkinson’s disease, including Drs. E.M. Valente, E. liah, M.G. Kaplitt, and Nobel Laureate Dr. P. Greengard. Dr. Marongiu is currently one of the leading experts in the research on the role that biological sex and menopause play in the development of disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Marongiu has always felt the need to bridge the gap between research and patients’ quality of life. After having participated in the 2013 WPC, where she had the opportunity to interact with Parkinson’s sufferers and learn about their challenges, she co-founded stoPD (Support and Training to Overcome Parkinson's disease; www.stop-pd.org) a Bi-Coastal 501c3 Non-Profit organization devoted to bettering the quality of life for people living with Parkinson's disease and their families via providing intense exercise and arts programs to encourage proactivity and a positive shift in perspective toward the future. Dr. Marongiu’s interview on CBS Sunday Morning in 2016 was instrumental in bringing intense exercise and boxing for PD into the mainstream.
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Julia Obergasteiger, PhD (Canada): Julia is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the CERVO Brain Research Centre, University Laval in Quebec, Canada. Julia grew up in the Italian alps and after a biology-oriented high school, she studied Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology in Austria. She then conducted her master’s thesis at the Institute for Biomedicine, Eurac, Italy. Julia's research journey in the field of Parkinson`s disease (PD) began during her master's thesis work and continued during her PhD at the Institute for Biomedicine, Eurac/University Ferrara. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of protein aggregation and the autophagy-lysosome pathway as a target in PD. Furthermore, she is interested in investigating novel targets and compounds to modify disease progression. Julia is employing stem cell-derived neuronal cultures and animal models for this purpose, focusing on genetic models based on alpha-synuclein and LRRK2 mutations, which are two key players in PD research. Julia attended the WPC 2019 in Kyoto and 2023 in Barcelona, where she presented her work with a scientific poster.
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Victoria de los Angeles Soto Linan, BSc, MS (Canada): Victoria began her academic journey with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Burman University (AB, Canada) in 2019. Driven by a deep curiosity for the medical field and research, she pursued a master’s degree in neuroscience at Laval University (QC, Canada), where she quickly accelerated her studies to PhD candidacy. Her early research focused on microbiology, particularly the gut-brain axis and its impact on mental health disorders. As her academic path evolved, so did her research interests, leading her to embrace a multidisciplinary approach in neuroscience. Now, as a PhD candidate, her work centers on establishing non-invasive techniques in early biomarker research for Parkinson’s disease, with the overarching goal of improving patient outcomes. After attending the WPC 2023 in Barcelona, Victoria is thrilled to now contribute as a science ambassador, eager to inspire others and advance the future of neuro-research.
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