Tyler Molitor, PhD, is the head of preclinical research at the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center (PICC). He received his BA degree from Lawrence University followed by his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He studied kinases -- proteins that modify other proteins -- in the laboratory of Dr. Paula Traktman at the Medical University of South Carolina and continued this pursuit while studying the LRRK2 kinase as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Nichols at the PICC. In his time at the PICC, Dr. Molitor developed a pre-clinical program focused on testing disease-modifying therapeutics in pre-clinical models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Being a new investigator, Dr. Molitor has successfully partnered with industry to fund six collaborative research agreements that explore the connection between the gut and the brain in PD. Using clinically driven science, he and his team aim to speed the delivery of disease-modifying therapeutics to people with Parkinson's.