My research focuses on two main conditions: Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease. Within our group at the department of Neuroimaging, we use neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), to identify markers of disease progression and new targets for treatments in people with Huntington’s disease. My specific interests include the non-motor aspects of Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease, and for the latter there is a strong collaboration with the Parkinson’s research team led by Prof Ray Chaudhuri. Moreover, I have a strong interest in the contribution of the hypothalamus, and in particular the biological clock located in this part of the brain, to specific disease symptoms and how, for example, the biological clock imposes a daily (diurnal) pattern on many of these symptoms.

Please see my Research Staff Profile for more detail

Key publications:

• van Wamelen et al., 2013. Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Neuropeptide Expression in Patients with Huntington's Disease. Sleep.
• van Wamelen et al., 2011. Functional increase of brain histaminergic signaling in Huntington's disease. Brain Pathology.
• van Wamelen., 2021. The Non‐Motor Symptoms Scale in Parkinson’s disease: Validation and use. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 
• van Wamelen., 2019. Slave to the rhythm: seasonal differences in non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders.
• van Wamelen,. 2021. How time rules: diurnal motor patterns in de novo Parkinson’s disease. Journal of Parkinson's disease.

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Key collaborators:

• Prof K Ray Chaudhuri; King's College London
• Prof Bas Bloem; Radboud University Medical Centre