Dr. Marta Martínez Vicente, principal investigator of the group of Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute and in charge of the research team for Autophagy and Lysosomal Dysfunction, has obtained a grant from the BBVA Foundation to search for new therapies against Parkinson's disease. The project 'Development of new nanotechnological based Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Parkinson's disease: restoration of lysosomal glucocerebrosidase activity through enzyme-polymer nanoconjugation of GBA (NANO-ERT)' will be funded with euros 124,872.The BBVA Foundation's Scientific Research Team Aid program has selected 5 projects out of the 134 presented in the Biomedicine area.Nanotechnology to get a new Parkinson's therapyThe presence of mutations in the lysosomal enzyme GBA is the main genetic risk for developing Parkinson's disease. The NANO-ERT project is led by Dr. Martínez Vicente and teams from the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemistry and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology collaborate.The NANO-ERT project proposes the design and development of a new enzyme replacement therapy based on the administration of the recombinant GBA protein improved by nanotechnology with the aim of increasing metabolic stability and ensuring that it can cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain. The technology will be validated in animal models and will serve as proof of concept in the development of protein transport systems to the central nervous system in the context of neurodegenerative diseases.