Professor Danielle Schmitt is one of 12 researchers selected to receive an Impact Award from the Parkinson’s Foundation. Her proposal, “Functional Imaging of PINK1 Activity Dynamics,” was selected through a highly competitive review process and will receive $200,000 in research funding.
Schmitt studies how the cell coordinates activity to function efficiently. Her research focuses on developing new tools that allow scientists to watch these processes as they happen, providing a better understanding of how cells communicate, use energy and respond to changes.
One focus of Schmitt’s research is PINK1, a protein that helps cells keep their energy-producing components, called mitochondria, healthy. When mitochondria become damaged, PINK1 helps the cell identify and remove them. Mutations in the PINK1 gene can disrupt this process and are linked to some forms of early-onset Parkinson’s disease.
Until now, researchers have had limited ways to see PINK1 at work inside living cells. Schmitt and her team have developed a new tool, called PINK1-SPARK, that allows them to watch PINK1 activity in real time. When PINK1 becomes active, the tool produces glowing spots that can be seen under a microscope, showing researchers when and where the protein is working.
With support from the Parkinson’s Foundation, Schmitt and her team will use PINK1-SPARK to better understand how PINK1 activity changes in Parkinson’s disease. They will also test thousands of chemical compounds to identify those that can activate PINK1, with the goal of finding potential starting points for new treatments.
Schmitt earned her undergraduate degree from Ball State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she studied how proteins work together inside cells. She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, where she developed a tool to study AMPK, a protein that helps cells sense and manage energy. This work provided new insights into how AMPK functions in different parts of the cell.
Schmitt joined UCLA as a faculty member in 2022. Her research group continues to develop tools for studying the complex processes that take place inside living cells, with the goal of using these tools to better understand human disease.
Her honors include the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, ACS Bio & Med Chem Au Rising Star, RSC Chemical Biology Emerging Investigator, UCLA Undergraduate Research Week Faculty Mentor Award and a Faculty Inclusion & Mentorship Award.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
