Volunteers’ Week: Celebrating the Dundee Research Interest Group (DRIG)


Since 2017, the Dundee Research Interest Group (DRIG) has brought together people with Parkinson’s, carers, clinicians, and researchers to create a truly inclusive and collaborative research environment.

This Volunteers’ Week, we’d like to take a moment to thank all the amazing individuals with lived experience of Parkinson’s who contribute to the DRIG. Your partnership, insight, and generosity of time and spirit is appreciated and shapes our work in the Unit in countless ways – from advising on research priorities and shaping funding applications, to co-designing public engagement events, to supporting summer students and bringing lived experience into the lab.

Dario Alessi meets the patients

“We are incredibly grateful to the wonderful DRIG volunteers for their energy, insight, and unwavering commitment to shaping and supporting our Parkinson’s research. Your thoughtful questions, lived experiences, and passion inspire our work and is vital for its success and bring purpose and urgency to what we do. Thank you for being such a vital part of our research community.”

Prof Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC PPU

Miratul Muqit meets the patients

“It is a privilege to work closely with the members of DRIG and the wider patient and carer community in Tayside and Scotland. The support that DRIG provides to myself and fellow researchers brings new dimensions to how we think about and shape our research. It’s an exciting and vibrant interaction which helps us to bring our research closer to finding a cure.”

Prof Miratul Muqit, Research Group Leader in the MRC PPU and Consultant Neurologist at NHS Tayside

Esther Sammler meets the patients

“Thank you to our incredible Parkinson's UK DRIG volunteers. Your voices, your experiences, and your commitment are driving real progress. By working together, we're making sure that people with Parkinson’s are not just represented in research — you’re helping shape it. You keep us focused on what matters most and move us closer to better treatments and hopefully a cure.”

Dr Esther Sammler, Research Group Leader in the MRC PPU and Consultant Neurologist at NHS Tayside

DRIG group photo
A huge thank you to every member of the Dundee Research Interest Group.

To find out more about the DRIG, visit https://drig.org.uk