Thorsten Schmidt studied Biochemistry at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. He received his PhD. (Dr. rer. nat.) in 2003 from the University of Rostock, Germany for his thesis entitled “The Pathogenesis of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3". Since 2006, Dr. Schmidt has headed the SCA3 research group at the Institute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics of the Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany. His research focuses on pathogenic mechanisms of Machado-Joseph disease. In order to dissect these mechanisms, Dr. Schmidt generated one of the first antibodies against ataxin-3 as well as several different transgenic mouse models of this disease. His group studies modifying factors of the disease and develops treatment strategies for MJD using molecular biological, protein biochemical and cell biological methods.