Julia Fitzgerald, PhD, studied biochemistry in the UK and joined the laboratory of Prof. Ellen Billett to complete a PhD on the monoamine oxidase protein, which is in mitochondria (cell's energy generators). Fitzgerald’s fascination with the mitochondria led to her post-doctoral studies at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, where she focused on proteins associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). She joined the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tübingen, Germany, and since 2014, she has been conducting independent research and in 2018 established her own group studying mitochondria and cell signaling – chemical reactions within the cell – in PD. Together with her team, Fitzgerald works mainly with cell and tissue samples donated by people with PD, specifically, with dopamine-producing brain cells. She is investigating mitochondrial proteins and is interested in mitochondrial quality control – a mechanism that keeps mitochondria functional – in inherited Parkinson's and in Parkinson's with an unknown cause.