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Contact Details

Email
toni.pitcher@otago.ac.nz
Position
Senior Research Fellow
Department
Department of Medicine (Christchurch)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD(Otago)
Research summary
Parkinson's disease

Research

My primary area of research is in Parkinson’s disease, especially understanding the ‘who’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ of Parkinson’s in New Zealand. This research has led to the first nationwide estimates of the prevalence and incidence of Parkinson’s. This is important because Parkinson’s is an age-related disorder and as our population ages more people will develop the disorder.

Within the Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch, I am the Co-Director of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), a birth cohort. During 2026, we will begin an age 50 assessment, which for the first time will include a number of biomedical assessments.

Across Parkinson’s, dementia, and CHDS cohorts, I lead the collection and biobanking of biological samples (DNA, plasma). These samples are a key component within each cohort and allow for biomedical and genetic contributions to respective areas of health and disease.

Publications

Chu, Y.-T., Su, Y.-A., Lin, C.-H., Tai, C.-H., Wu, Y.-R., Hong, C.-T., … and the Global Parkinson's Genetic Program (GP2), including Anderson, T. J., & Pitcher, T. L. (2026). Genome-wide association and population-tailored polygenic risk for Parkinson’s disease in Taiwan. npj Parkinson's Disease, 12(1), 191. doi: 10.1038/s41531-026-01349-0 Journal - Research Article

Morris, V., Ganderton, J., Coldicott, R., Smith, B., Myall, D., Mayes, W., Yuan, Q., Morini, L., Sahota, J., … Pitcher, T., … Horne, K.-L., Williams, J., Göbl, C., Anderson, T., & Dalrymple-Alford, J. (2026). It'll all end in tears: Investigating novel biomarkers for Parkinson's disease from reflex tears. In A. Banstola (Ed.), Proceedings of the 42nd International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research (AWCBR). 42, 1.1, (pp. 39). Retrieved from https://www.awcbr.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Reyes-Pérez, P., Hor, J. W., Toh, T. S., Sanyaolu, A. O., Pantazis, C. B., Leal, T. P., … and the Global Parkinson's Genetic Program (GP2), including Anderson, T. J., Pitcher, T. L., … Brolin, K. A. (2026). Exploring MAPT-containing H1 and H2 haplotypes in Parkinson’s disease across diverse populations. npj Parkinson's Disease, 12(1), 187. doi: 10.1038/s41531-026-01394-9 Journal - Research Article

Lim, K. S., Periñan, M. T., Chew, E. G. Y., Lee, P. S., Akçimen, F., Lim, J. L., … and the Global Parkinson's Genetic Program (GP2), including Anderson, T. J., & Pitcher, T. L. (2026). Association of LRRK2 p.A419V with Parkinson’s disease in East Asians and analysis of age at onset. npj Parkinson's Disease, 12(1), 51. doi: 10.1038/s41531-026-01265-3 Journal - Research Article

Sun, W., Schulte, C., Gasser, T., Tan, M., and the the Global Parkinson's Genetic Program (GP2), including Anderson, T. J., Pitcher, T. L., Myall, D. J., & Dalrymple-Alford, J. C. (2025). TMEM175, SCARB2 and CTSB associations with Parkinson’s disease risk across populations. npj Parkinson's Disease, 11, 348. doi: 10.1038/s41531-025-01180-z Journal - Research Article

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