My studies demonstrated for the first time an alteration of the autophagy machinery in motor neuron disease and provided innovative methods to explore the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration. In my research studies we identified new brain disorders such as GAMT deficiency and we provided a cure for this rare disease in human patients. I developed novel experimental models to reproduce and comprehend Parkinson's Disease and, in collaboration with the Nobel Prize Dr. Thomas Sudhof, we demonstrated the detrimental effects of the synaptic protein alpha synuclein in Parkinsonism.