Dr. Thomas Gasser is a professor of neurology and has been director of the department of neurodegenerative diseases at the Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research since 2002; he has also been chairman of the board of directors at the Center of Neurology, University of Tuebingen, Germany since 2007. In 2010, Dr. Gasser became dean of research of the Medical Faculty at the University of Tuebingen and since 2013 he has been coordinator for clinical studies at the Tuebingen partner of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. His main areas of research are the genetic and molecular basis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), dystonias and other movement disorders. His studies include the mapping, cloning and functional characterization of Mendelian genes causing PD and other movement disorders, as well as their diagnosis and treatment. He also works on identifying the common genetic variability that contributes to the sporadic forms of the disease.