The World Parkinson Coalition (WPC) is proud to announce for the
first time the World Parkinson
Congress Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Parkinson Community.
This inaugural award is granted to an individual whose efforts best embody the
goals of the World Parkinson Congress. Recipients have been selected based on
their work that inspires community building and collaboration regarding
Parkinson’s in any one or more of the following areas: advancement of science,
improvement of quality of life, education about Parkinson’s, and innovation in
clinical care.
The Award recipients will be honored at the 4th World Parkinson
Congress in September 2016. The WPC 2016 Steering Committee, after
reviewing 39 nominations from 14 countries, selected three recipients for this
year’s award; two hail from the United States, one from the United Kingdom.
Serge Przedborski, MD, PhD, WPC, president, and A. Jon Stoessl,
CM, MD FRCPC, WPC, vice president, state, “We are honored to present this
award, and humbled by the excellence and dedication of this year’s award
recipients. Their collective work has made living with Parkinson’s easier for many
in this community as well as furthered the complicated research needed to study
this disease.”
“We are pleased to recognize those individuals whose hard work
and dedication help the global Parkinson’s community,” adds Elizabeth (Eli)
Pollard, executive director, WPC. “They truly exemplify how to break down
barriers, knock down the silo walls around research, and work collaboratively
to reach the common goal of better care and treatment for people with
Parkinson’s disease.”
The World Parkinson Congress Award for Distinguished
Contribution to the Parkinson Community is being given to the following three
individuals:
Julie Carter, RN, MN,
ANP: Co-founder and past co-director of the Oregon Health &
Science University (OHSU) Parkinson Center of Oregon (PCO) and Movement
Disorders Program; professor, Neurology, OHSU. Carter developed many innovative
programs to improve the lives of patients and families who live with
Parkinson's disease. Notable programs are a newly diagnosed program for
patients and families, a self-management program for people with Parkinson’s
(PwP) and a palliative care program for PwP and their families, of which she speaks
to local and national audiences. Furthermore, Carter’s work includes directing
multiple clinical trials with a special interest in neuroprotective therapies.
Other Parkinson’s disease research projects include its impact on family
caregiving, palliative care, how to best deliver the diagnosis and end-of-life
experience.
Through her work -- clinical practice, education, and research –
Carter has touched, ultimately for the better, the lives of hundreds of
thousands of PwP and their families. Carter will be part of a panel of speakers
at the pre-Congress program, held on Tuesday, September 20.
Tom Isaacs:
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 27, Isaacs co-founded The Cure
Parkinson’s Trust in 2005 and has become an inspirational public speaker and
figurehead for the Parkinson’s community. Isaacs has challenged conventional
approaches to funding and facilitating research and has encouraged much needed
innovation in the field. Since his diagnosis, he’s be a tour de force
fundraiser, raising over £5.5 million for this cause. His work also includes
being a board member of the European Parkinson’s Disease Association and has
represented the interests of people with Parkinson’s on DeNDRoN (the Dementias
and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network). He is also a leading
contributor to the SENSE-PARK project, which is a European funded initiative to
establish a more personalized, objective measuring device for people with
Parkinson’s and those who treat them.
Isaacs currently is on the WPC 2016 Programming Committee and
will be speaking at the pre-Congress course on September 20 as well as chairing
talks on patient care at WPC 2016. His commitment to the WPC started in 2010 on
its Steering and Organizational Committees, as well as a presenter.
The author of "Shake Well Before Use,” Isaacs conveys his
living with Parkinson’s experiences with passion, optimism and humor. He speaks
regularly about his condition and the ability of people with Parkinson’s to
inject urgency into progressing the delivery of new therapies to the clinic.
David Leventhal:
A former dancer with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Leventhal is currently its
program director and one of the founding teachers of the Mark Morris Dance
Group's Dance for PD® (Parkinson's Disease) program, which was originally
conceived by Olie Westheimer. Begun in 2002 as a small monthly class for the
Brooklyn Parkinson Group, the program has expanded to include weekly classes at
the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, training workshops for teachers in
cities around the US and abroad, and a network of affiliated classes in more
than 100 cites in 12 countries around the world. Along with Westheimer, he is
the co-recipient of the 2013 Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award from the
Parkinson's Unity Walk. He has written about dance and Parkinson's for such
publications as Dance Gazette and Room 217, and has a chapters about the
program in two books: Multimodal Learning in Communities and Schools (Peter
Lang) and Creating Dance: A Traveler's Guide (Hampton Press). He serves on the
Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Arts and Health.
Leventhal is also on the faculty of the Mark Morris Dance
Center, and teaches technique and repertory classes for students of all ages at
schools and universities in the U.S. and internationally. He’ll be providing
talks and dance workshops at WPC 2016.
About the World Parkinson Coalition® and WPC 2016
The World Parkinson Coalition Inc. is a nonprofit organization
that provides an international forum for learning about the latest scientific discoveries,
medical practices, care partner initiatives and advocacy work related to
Parkinson's disease. The World Parkinson Coalition® launched the first Congress
in 2006 to provide a space for the global Parkinson’s community of researchers,
clinicians, health care professionals, people with Parkinson’s and their care
partners to meet in person, network and to share advances in Parkinson’s
research, improve understanding and promote advocacy worldwide, and to
potentially shape future research, treatment and care.
From its modest beginning to nearly 10,000 delegates who have
participated in the previous triennial Congresses, the WPC 2016 is expected to
attract more than 4,000 delegates. To learn more about the 4th World Parkinson
Congress, please visit: http://www.wpc2016.org/
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13618676.htm
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