SPARK NS Program 2026 – Professor Michael Johnson’s project awarded

$2 million funding for Imperial to develop new treatments for Parkinson’s Disease.

Professor Michael Johnson, DPhil, FRACP, FRCP, Professor of Neurology and Genomic Medicine at the Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, will lead a project funded through the SPARK NS Program 2026. It is one of only two projects ever awarded in the United Kingdom. In total, nine Principal Investigators have joined the 2026 cohort, with their projects collectively eligible for up to $18 million in funding and drug development support.   

Professor Johnson’s project, A Human Genetics-driven Approach for Disease Modification in Parkinson’s Disease, will receive up to $2 million over two years. “I am delighted and honoured to lead this SPARK NS drug development award, which is international recognition of the cutting-edge science being conducted by my dedicated and talented research group at Imperial College, and by my collaborator Dr Yu Ye in Brain Sciences,” said Professor Johnson. “We are one of only a very few European research groups to be honoured by this award, and only the second ever in the UK to apply successfully.” 

The awarded project aims to develop a disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease. It builds on state-of-the-art genomic research conducted by Professor Johnson and his team in Brain Sciences at Imperial College London. Their new single‑cell methods enable scientists to pinpoint, up to ten times more accurately than before, which genes are worth pursuing as drug targets – dramatically increasing the chances that new treatments will succeed, as shown in their 2025 Nature Genetics publication. 

The funded projects focus on therapeutics for autism and Parkinson’s disease and are based in academic and nonprofit research institutions in the US, UK, and Europe. Participation in the SPART K NS programme lasts two years, with each project eligible for up to $2 million in milestone-based funding. SPARK NS operates on a proven model of translational research with an exceptional 50% success rate in moving discoveries from lab to clinic.  

“SPARK NS is more than just funding for academic drug development – it provides training, mentorship and project management support across all aspects of the drug development process. I believe it offers a model we could draw upon to strengthen translational success across the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London,” Professor Johnson summarised. 

“As an academic with a potential therapeutic, I learned years ago that drug development is difficult, takes a long time, and is very expensive,” said Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, a SPARK NS Board Director and Chief Science and Education Advisor. “At SPARK NS, we provide funding. But we also bring a high level of support and accountability to the process that most academic researchers have never experienced. The combination improves the odds that therapeutics will make it to market where they can directly benefit patients.”  

Learn more about the 2026 cohort.