Marg Meikle Professorship

Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell

Thanks to donations made through the Porridge for Parkinson’s events, the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Institute was able to endow a full-time professorship in Parkinson’s research beginning in 2010. Named in honour of Porridge for Parkinson’s creator, Marg Meikle, the professorship has been held since inception by Parkinson’s clinician and research scientist, Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell. Through the professorship, she conducts leading research, teaches and provides clinical care. Now, Dr. Appel-Cresswell oversees the operations of the PPRC as its director and is an Associate Professor (tenure) at UBC.

Projects

Dr. Appel-Cresswell is a strong believer in the critical link between research and clinical care, with each informing the other. In addition to leading research projects such as IMPACCT (Impact on Parkinson’s Care and Clinical Tracking), the microbiome study, hearing deficits in people with Parkinson’s, and the potential use of ultrasound-guided botulinum, she does even more in the community. She provides care to Parkinson’s patients at the PPRC clinic, teaches neuroscience at UBC, and shares her findings with scientists and medical professionals across Canada and around the world.

Dr. Appel-Cresswell is also involved in working with interdisciplinary collaborations across UBC and partnerships to form the Brain Wellness Program in the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. The goals of the program are clinically to enhance the quality of life and physical and mental health of participants, and scientifically to study the effect of non-pharmacological interventions on neuroprotection in brain disorders and in aging.

Teaching and Service

Dr. Appel-Cresswell is Associate Professor and has a grant-tenured position in the Division of Neurology. Together with other leading movement disorder specialists across Canada, Dr. Appel-Cresswell contributed to the update of the Canadian guidelines for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. She was also awarded the 2018 UBC Master Teacher Award by the Department of Medicine. She continues to run the annual National Canadian Residents’ Movement Disorder Course and is honoured to be the incoming President of the Canadian Movement Disorder Group.

To learn more about Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell, you can download the Marg Meikle Professorship in Parkinson’s Research 2021 Impact Report.

The Marg Meikle Professorship in Parkinson’s Research was made possible thanks to estate gifts from Rina Honderich and Dr. Wai Haan, as well as the proceeds raised through PPRI’s annual Porridge for Parkinson’s events that began in 2001.