Dr. Ziv Gan-Or completed his MD and PhD at Tel-Aviv University, with a major interest in lysosomal related genes and their role in the development and progression of Parkinson’s Disease. In his current work at the MNI, he utilizes advanced genotyping and next-generation sequencing technologies to further study the genetic background of Parkinson’s Disease. Dr. Gan-Or’s lab is also interested the genetics of a specific prodromal condition – REM sleep behavior disorder. Individuals who suffer from REM sleep behavior disorder will most likely develop a neurodegenerative disease: either Parkinson’s Disease, dementia with Lewy bodies or multiple system atrophy. By identifying the genetic background of REM sleep behavior disorder and its progression to one of these neurodegenerative disorders, Dr. Gan-Or aims to identify novel pathways and mechanisms that may help developing treatment. His research also focuses on other neurological disorders, such as hereditary spastic paraplegia and restless legs syndrome. Although there are more than 60 genes already identified in hereditary spastic paraplegia, about 50% of the families remain without genetic diagnosis, suggesting that many more genes associated with hereditary spastic paraplegia are still do be discovered.
Selected publications
Ross J, Dupre N, Dauvilliers Y, Strong S, Ambalavanan A, Spiegelman D, Dionne-Laporte A, Pourcher E, Langlois M, Boivin M, Leblond CS, Dion PA, Rouleau GA and Gan-Or Z. Analysis of DNAJC13 mutations in French-Canadian/French cohort of Parkinson’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging. 2016 Sep;45:212.e13-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.04.023.
Gan-Or Z, Bouslam N, Birouk N, Lissouba A, Chambers DB, Vérièpe J, Androschuck A, Laurent SB, Rochefort D, Spiegelman D, Dionne-Laporte A, Szuto A, Liao M, Figlewicz DA, Bouhouche A, Benomar A, Yahyaoui M, Ouazzani R, Yoon G, Dupré N, Suchowersky O, Bolduc F, Parker JA, Dion PA, Drapeau P, Rouleau GA, Ouled Amar Bencheikh B. Mutations in CAPN1 Cause Autosomal Recessive Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2016 May 98(5):1038-1046. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.04.002
Gan-Or Z, Mirelman A, Postuma RB, Arnulf I, Bar-Shira A, Dauvilliers Y, Desautels A, Gagnon JF, Leblond CS, Frauscher B, Alcalay RN, Saunders-Pullman R, Bressman SB, Marder K, Monaca C, Hogl B, Orr-Urtreger A, Dion PA, Montplaisir JY, Giladi N and Rouleau GA. GBA mutations are associated with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder. Annals of clinical and translational neurology. 2015 Sep;2(9):941-5. DOI: 10.1002/acn3.228
Gan-Or Z, Dion PA and Rouleau GA. Genetic perspective on the role of the Autophagy-Lysosome Pathway in Parkinson disease. Autophagy. 24 July 2015 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2015.1067364
Alcalay RN, Levy OA, Waters C, Fahn S, Ford B, Kuo SH, Mazzoni P, Marder K, Pauciulo MW, Nichols WC, Gan-Or Z, Rouleau GA, Chung WK, Wolf P, Oliva P and Zhang XK. Glucocerebrosidase activity in Parkinson disease with and without GBA mutations. Brain. 2015 Sep;138(Pt 9):2648-58. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awv179
Gan-Or Z, Girard SL, Noreau A, Leblond CS, Gagnon JF, Arnulf I, Mirarchi C, Dauvilliers Y, Desautels A, Mitterling T, Cochen De Cock V, Frauscher B, Monaca C, Hogl B, Dion PA, Postuma RB, Montplaisir JY and Rouleau GA. Parkinson’s disease genetic loci in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience. 2015 Jul;56(3):617-22. DOI: 10.1007/s12031-015-0569-7.
Gan-Or Z, Alcalay RN, Bar-Shira A, Leblond CS, Postuma RB, Ben-Shachar S, Waters C, Johnson A, Levy OA, Mirelman A, Gana-Weisz M, Dupre N, Montplaisir JY, Giladi N, Fahn S, Xiong L, Dion PA, Orr-Urtreger A and Rouleau GA. Genetic markers of Restless Legs Syndrome in Parkinson Disease. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. 2015 Jun;21(6):582-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.03.010.
Gan-Or Z, Amshalom I, Kilarski L.L, Bar-Shira A, Gana-Weisz M, Mirelman A, Marder K, Bressman, Giladi N, and Orr-Urtreger A. Differential effects of severe vs. mild GBA mutations on Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2015 Mar 3;84(9):880-7. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001315.
Gan-Or Z, Ozelius LJ, Bar-Shira A, Saunders-Pullman R, Mirelman A, Kornreich R, Gana-Weisz M, Raymond D, Rozenkrantz L, Deik A, Gurevich T, Gross SJ, Schreiber-Agus N, Giladi N, Bressman SB, and Orr-Urtreger A. The p.L302P mutation in the lysosomal enzyme gene SMPD1 is a risk factor for Parkinson disease. Neurology 2013 Apr 23;80(17):1606-1610. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31828f180e.
