The Life Scientific: Sonia Gandhi

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Many people will be familiar with Parkinson’s disease: the progressive brain disorder that causes symptoms including tremors and slower movement, leading on to serious cognitive problems. You might not know that it’s the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world. Today it affects around 11.8 million people and that’s forecast to double by 2030. Dr Sonia Gandhi is one of the scientists working to change that trend. As Professor of Neurology at University College London and Assistant Research Director at the Francis Crick Institute, her work involves using stem cells to build models of the human brain, helping to drive the development of drugs and other therapies for Parkinson’s patients. Talking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Sonia explains why this destructive condition is on the rise - and the promising routes they're studying to find new ways to tackle it.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	Hello, Greg Jenner here, host of You're Dead to Me, the comedy podcast that takes history seriously and then laughs at it.
0:13.4	This Christmas, forget about socks. We've got the best present of all.
0:17.2	Dead people!
0:18.2	All that sounds like zombies. Sorry, it's not zombies. Let me start again.
0:21.8	In our new family-friendly podcast series, dead funny history,
0:25.0	historical figures come back to life
0:26.8	but just long enough to argue with me,
0:28.7	tell their life stories and sometimes get on my nerves.
0:31.8	You're dead to me, dead funny history.
0:34.1	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:36.5	Hello, today we're talking about the fastest growing neurological condition in the world.
0:42.2	Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that causes tremors,
0:47.7	stiffness, slowness of movement leading onto serious cognitive problems.
0:52.2	There are treatments that can help manage the symptoms, but no cure yet.
0:57.0	Already around 11.8 million people are affected by the condition worldwide, and that number
1:02.6	is forecast to double by 2030.
1:05.5	Although not if today's guest has anything to do with it.
1:08.9	Sonia Gandhi is a clinician scientist specialising in
1:12.7	neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Parkinson's. As Professor of Neurology at University
1:18.1	College London and Assistant Research Director at the Francis Crick Institute, she uses stem cells
1:24.6	to build models of the human brain, helping to drive the development of drugs and other therapies for Parkinson's patients.
	...

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