Parkinson's Disease Foundation Announces $4 Million in Research Investments to Solve, Treat and End Parkinson's Disease

New York,  June 9, 2016 

Research Funding for Early-Career Scientists Reflects Urgent Need for Better Therapies

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation® (PDF®) is pleased to announce $4 million in research investments to solve, treat and end Parkinson's disease.  The newest awards, which include increased support for early-career scientists, reflect PDF's urgency for advancing the care and cure for the one million Americans living with Parkinson's disease.  Browse research investments below or by visiting www.pdf.org/results_funded.   

"PDF research investments have advanced our understanding of Parkinson's disease and improved millions of lives worldwide.  Yet, our community is still without the therapies they need most — those that can slow or stop the disease.  Our most recent grants reflect PDF's commitment to supporting the next generation of research leaders who will speed us toward better treatments and a cure," noted James Beck, Ph.D., Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

PDF's increased investment in early-career scientists is illustrated through the new Stanley Fahn Junior Faculty Awards, named in honor of PDF's longtime Scientific Director.  The awards provide young scientists with $300,000 in support over three years for research focused on solving Parkinson's.  Among the awardees is Ignacio Fernandez Mata, Ph.D., Acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and a researcher at the Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at VA Puget Sound Health Care System, whose project, "Parkinson's Genetic Risk Factors in Latino Populations," will expand upon genetics research that has already provided many important clues about the disease.

"In Parkinson's, genetic studies have advanced the field immeasurably, but they have been confined to studying those of European ancestry, which limits our knowledge and puts non-Europeans at risk for health disparities," said Dr. Mata.  "PDF understood this unmet need early on and, at the start of my career, provided seed funding to create the Latin American Research consortium on the Genetics of Parkinson's Disease (LARGE-PD), which has recruited more than 4,000 individuals across Latin America.  The PDF Stanley Fahn Award allows my team to take the research further — to perform the first-ever large-scale genetic study of non-European populations, so we can understand if the same genetic risk factors apply to Latinos and identify new ones to help us better understand the disease for everyone."

PDF research investments are selected through a competitive application process reviewed by its Scientific Advisory Board, which includes scientific experts and PDF-trained patient advocates.

PDF's latest research investments are listed below.  Additional investments will be announced throughout the year.  To learn more, visit www.pdf.org/results_funded.   

PDF Research Centers
Allow talented scientists to collaborate on basic, translational and clinical research.

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