Iris obtained her Ph.D. in Bonn, Germany and joined the University of Calgary in 1993 as Postdoctoral Fellow with a scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.

As biochemist her research was focused on intracellular mechanisms in smooth muscle cells.

After a break to raise a family, Iris entered the path of clinical research working with lung cancer patients, and since 2013 she primarily worked in the field of Parkinson’s disease managing Dr. Oury Monchi’s lab at the University of Calgary.

She helped establish the Calgary Parkinson Research Initiative (CaPRI) and worked on creating the Canadian Open Parkinson Network (C-OPN) alongside Dr. Monchi.

In the last four years she started adding experience in clinical trials in PD and Huntington’s disease as well as Tourette’s disorder to her portfolio.

Iris loves to work with patients and their care-partners and is advocating for Patient-Oriented Research (POR) strategies.

Email: ikathol@ucalgary.ca