How is a nervous system made in a developing organism? Why do nerve cells die during aging or in cases of disease and how can we stop this from happening? We are addressing these fundamental biological questions focusing on a particular neuronal class, the dopaminergic neurons, employing high-throughput genetics on C. elegans. Through a collaborative effort with the Stavanger University Hospital we are extending our findings to Parkinson’s patients utilizing next generation sequencing technology to better understand human disease.