AmberD.Van LaarMD

Neurology • Pittsburgh, PA

Movement Disorder, Neurodegenerative

Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

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Office
3471 Fifth Avenue
Kaufman Medical Building, Suite #810
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone+1 412-692-4916
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Clinical Expertise

Botulinum toxin injections, Deep brain stimulation, Clinical research, Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, Gene therapy, Laboratory research

Education & Training

University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineCertificate in Clinical Research, Clinical Research, 2015 - 2016
UPMC Medical Education/Presbyterian Shadyside HospitalFellowship, Movement Disorders, 2013 - 2015
UPMC Medical Education (Pittsburgh)Residency, Neurology, 2009 - 2013
University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineClass of 2009

Certifications & Licensure

PA State Medical License 2014 - 2024
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Neurology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

NINDS Conference Grant for the Parkinson Study Group NINDS, 2016
American Academy of Neurology Fellows Scholarship AAN, 2015
ABF-PDF Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson’s Disease Parkinson's Disease Foundation & American Brain Foundation, 2014
Movement Disorders Fellow Scholarship Movement Disorders Society, 2013
Chief Resident University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2012
Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Resident Scholarship Award CMSC, 2011
Mitchell Award for Neurology University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2009
Leadership in Medicine Award University of Arizona, 2007
USA Funds Scholarship Scholarship America, 2006-2007
President of Student Interest Group in Neurology University of Arizona, 2005, 2007
Secretary for American Medical Women's Association AMWA, 2004, 2006-2007
Magna cum laude University of Pittsburgh, 2002
Neuroscience Departmental Honors University of Pittsburgh, 2002
NIMH Undergraduate Research Fellowship University of Pittsburgh, 2001-2002
University Scholarship University of Pittsburgh, 1997, 1999-2001
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Clinical Trials

Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial: An Opportunity to Prevent Dementia. A Study of Potential Disease Modifying Treatments in Individuals at Risk for or With a Type of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Caused by a Genetic Mutation. Master Protocol DIAN-TU-001 Start of enrollment: 2012 Dec 01
Recruiting
Phase 2, Phase 3
Safety Study of AADC Gene Therapy (VY-AADC01) for Parkinson's Disease Start of enrollment: 2013 Oct 01
Completed
Phase 1
Safety and Efficacy Study of VY-AADC01 for Advanced Parkinson's Disease Start of enrollment: 2017 May 11
Completed
Phase 1
Evaluating the Efficacy, Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of BIIB054 in Participants With Parkinson's Disease Start of enrollment: 2018 Jan 10
Terminated
Phase 2
VY-AADC02 for Parkinson's Disease With Motor Fluctuations (RESTORE-1) Start of enrollment: 2018 Oct 17
Active, not recruiting
Phase 1
Observational, Long-term Extension Study for Participants of Prior VY-AADC01 Studies Start of enrollment: 2018 Aug 24
Completed
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

11 citations
Safety of AADC Gene Therapy for Moderately Advanced Parkinson Disease: Three-Year Outcomes From the PD-1101 Trial.
Chadwick W. Christine, R. Mark Richardson, Amber D. Van Laar, Marin E. Thompson, Elisabeth M. Fine, Omar Khwaja, Chunming Li, Grace S. Liang, Andreas Meier, Eiry Rober...> ;Neurology. 2021 Oct 14
11 citations
Gene Therapy in Movement Disorders: A Systematic Review of Ongoing and Completed Clinical Trials
Aristide Merola, Noelle Kobayashi, Alberto Romagnolo, Brenton A Wright, Carlo Alberto Artusi, Gabriele Imbalzano, Irene Litvan, Amber D. Van Laar, Krystof S. Bankiewicz> ;Frontiers in Neurology. 2021 Apr 6
11 citations
An Update on Gene Therapy Approaches for Parkinson's Disease: Restoration of Dopaminergic Function.
Amber D. Van Laar, Victor S. Van Laar, Waldy San Sebastian, Aristide Merola, J. Bradley Elder, Russell R. Lonser, Krystof S. Bankiewicz> ;Journal of Parkinson's Disease. 2021 Jan 1
14 citations
Data-driven evolution of neurosurgical gene therapy delivery in Parkinson's disease
R. Mark Richardson, Krystof S. Bankiewicz, Chadwick W. Christine, Amber D. Van Laar, Robert E. Gross, Russell R. Lonser, Stewart A. Factor, Sandra K. Kostyk, Adrian P....> ;Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 2020 Jul 30
17 citations
Gene therapy for Parkinson's disease: contemporary practice and emerging concepts.
Aristide Merola, Amber D. Van Laar, Russell R. Lonser, Krzysztof Bankiewicz> ;Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 2020 May 19
20 citations
Aromatic L‐Amino Acid Decarboxylase Gene Therapy Enhances Levodopa Response in Parkinson's Disease
John G. Nutt, Carolin Curtze, Amie L. Hiller, Shannon Anderson, Paul S. Larson, Amber D. Van Laar, R. Mark Richardson, Marin E. Thompson, Alexander Sedkov, Mika Leinon...> ;Movement Disorders. 2020 May 1
53 citations
GDNF and Parkinson’s Disease: Where Next? A Summary from a Recent Workshop
Roger A. Barker, Anders Björklund, Don M. Gash, Alan L Whone, Amber D. Van Laar, Jeffrey H. Kordower, Krystof S. Bankiewicz, Karl Kieburtz, Mart Saarma, Sigrid Booms, ...> ;Journal of Parkinson's Disease. 2020 Jan 1
79 citations
Magnetic resonance imaging-guided phase 1 trial of putaminal AADC gene therapy for Parkinson's disease.
Chadwick W. Christine, Krystof S. Bankiewicz, Amber D. Van Laar, R. Mark Richardson, Bernard Ravina, Adrian P. Kells, Brendon P. Boot, Alastair J. Martin, John G. Nutt...> ;Annals of Neurology. 2019 May 1
30 citations
Long-term RNAi knockdown of α-synuclein in the adult rat substantia nigra without neurodegeneration.
Alevtina Zharikov, Qing Bai, Briana R. De Miranda, Amber D. Van Laar, J. Timothy Greenamyre, Edward A. Burton> ;Neurobiology of Disease. 2019 May 1
386 citations
LRRK2 activation in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease
Roberto Di Maio, Eric K. Hoffman, Emily M. Rocha, Matthew T. Keeney, Laurie H. Sanders, Briana R. De Miranda, Alevtina Zharikov, Amber D. Van Laar, Antonia F. Stepan, ...> ;Science Translational Medicine. 2018 Jul 25
32 citations
Outcomes of Interventional-MRI Versus Microelectrode Recording-Guided Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation.
Philip S. Lee, Gregory M. Weiner, Danielle Corson, Jessica Kappel, Yuefang Chang, Valerie Suski, Sarah B. Berman, Houman Homayoun, Amber D. Van Laar, Donald J. Crammon...> ;Frontiers in Neurology. 2018 Apr 11
169 citations
Unregulated Cytosolic Dopamine Causes Neurodegeneration Associated with Oxidative Stress in Mice
Linan Chen, Yunmin Ding, Barbara Cagniard, Amber D. Van Laar, Amanda D. Mortimer, Wanhao Chi, Teresa G. Hastings, Un Jung Kang, Xiaoxi Zhuang> ;The Journal of Neuroscience. 2008 Jan 9
84 citations
Alpha-synuclein inhibits aromatic amino acid decarboxylase activity in dopaminergic cells.
Roya Tehranian, Susana E. Montoya, Amber D. Van Laar, Teresa G. Hastings, Ruth G. Perez> ;Journal of Neurochemistry. 2006 Nov 1
74 citations
Erythropoietin protects against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced dopaminergic cell death.
Armando P. Signore, Zhongfang Weng, Teresa G. Hastings, Amber D. Van Laar, Qinghua Liang, Yong J. Lee, Jun Chen> ;Journal of Neurochemistry. 2006 Jan 1
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Journal Articles

Non-motor Symptoms of Parkinson Disease: Update on the Diagnosis and Treatment
Amber D. Van Laar, MD and Samay Jain, MD, MS, Neurologist, 7/10/2014

Abstracts/Posters

Intraputaminal AADC gene therapy for advanced Parkinson’s disease: Interim Results of a Phase 1b
Christine CW, Bankiewicz KS, Van Laar AD, Richardson R, Ravina B, Kells A, Boot B, Martin A, Thompson M, Larson P, European Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, XXV Anniversary Congress, Berlin, Germany, 10/2017
Real-time MRI-guided intraputaminal AADC gene therapy for advanced Parkinson’s disease.
Richardson R, Christine CW, Bankiewicz KS, Van Laar AD, Ravina B, Kells A, Boot B, Larson P, World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Quadrennial Meeting, Berlin, Germany, 6/2017
Intraputaminal AADC gene therapy for advanced Parkinson’s disease: Interim Results of a Phase 1b Trial.
Christine CW, Bankiewicz KS, Van Laar AD, Richardson R, Ravina B, Kells A, Boot B, Martin A, Thompson M, Larson P., American Academy of Neurology 69th Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 4/2017
. A novel, progressive, endogenous synucleinopathy model of Parkinson disease in rats.
Van Laar AD, Webb KR, Burton EA, Greenamyre JT, Society for Neuroscience, San Diego,CA, 11/2016
A novel, endogenous synucleinopathy model of Parkinson disease in rats
Van Laar AD, Webb KR, Burton EA, Greenamyre JT., 30th Annual Parkinson Study Group, Portland, OR, 9/2016
AAV2-AADC Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease: Therapeutic Potential and Surgical Coverage of the Putamen using MRI-Guided Convective Delivery.
Bankiewick KS, Christine CW, Thompson M, Bringas J, Ravina B, Richardson M, Van Laar A, and Larson P., Michael J Fox Foundation Therapeutics Conference, New York, NY, 2016
Frontotemporal dementia associated with a Valosin-Containing Protein mutation: report of three families
Spina S, Van Laar AD, Murrell J, de Courten-Myers G, Hamilton R, Farlow M, Quinlan J, Ghetti B, DeKosky S., AAN Annual Meeting Abstract, 3/2008
Selenium supplementation and dopamine induced toxicity.
Cavanaugh AD & Hastings TG, Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, 2005
Alpha-synuclein regulates dopamine synthesis at multiple sites.
Tehranian R, Peng X, Cavanaugh AD, Stefanis L, Hastings TG, Perez RG, Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC, 2004
Protective effects of dietary creatine and nicotinamide against dopamine induced neurotoxicity.
Cavanaugh AD, Becker T, Thompson T, Jackson B, and Hastings TG, Society for Neuroscience, 1/1/2003
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Grant Support

UPP Foundation GrantUniversity of Pittsburgh Physicians Foundation2017–2018
NeuroDisovery Pilot GrantUniversity of Pittsburgh Brain Institute2016–2018
Clinician-Scientist Development AwardParkinson's Disease Foundation & American Academy of Neurology2014–2017