Dr. James Beck 00:00:00
For every dollar contributed by the Foundation toward basic research, scientists have been able to leverage our support into five dollars in additional funding. Hi, I'm Dr. James Beck, Chief Scientific Officer of the Parkinson's Foundation. Today, I'm going to talk about the importance of basic research when it comes to Parkinson's disease.
Basic research is a type of investigation that helps us understand the how and why something works in the way it does, or doesn't, in the case of Parkinson's. Parkinson's is an extremely complex disease. We don't know what causes it, how it progresses, or even how to stop it. That is why we need basic research to address these questions, advance our overall understanding of Parkinson's, and the basic biology underlying the disease.
While we are simultaneously developing treatments to help alleviate the most challenging symptoms of Parkinson's, researching the basic biology is the first step to helping us solve and ultimately prevent the disease altogether.
Though Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, Alzheimer's disease still receives the majority of federal funding. Since 2014, the National Institutes of Health has increased its funding for Alzheimer's research fivefold, while research funding for Parkinson's has only grown by less than 20%. This disparity in disease funding may lead to a brain drain and potentially a decrease in the number of young scientists working to solve Parkinson's.
Due to the competitiveness for limited resources from major funding institutions, most medical researchers do not receive their first major federal grant until their 40s. This presents a challenge, as many of the most significant breakthroughs across all scientific fields are made by researchers under the age of 40.
To address the challenges of research funding and to draw the brightest minds to solving Parkinson's disease, the Parkinson's Foundation is dedicated to supporting researchers early in their careers. We invest more than $10 million annually in promising scientists who are on a mission to understand the basic mechanisms of Parkinson's. Through grants, fellowships and partnerships, we motivate scientists to devote their careers—their lives—to Parkinson's disease research.
We believe in high-risk, high-reward research that tests new hypotheses when it comes to basic science. Research findings made by Parkinson's Foundation grantees often help them qualify for additional federal funding. For every dollar contributed by the Foundation toward basic research, scientists have been able to leverage our support into five dollars in additional funding.
Dr. James Beck 00:02:37
We have funded 613 researchers since 2010, thanks to the generous support from the Parkinson's community. Your donations help us create and award grants to PD researchers who are seeking to solve Parkinson's disease. These grants allow them to explore innovative ideas that can potentially lead to breakthroughs in Parkinson’s disease research.
I've been a neuroscientist for over 20 years and in the Parkinson's field for the majority of that time. With Parkinson's prevalence on the rise as our population ages, we are seeing research evolve. For instance, right now, as a Foundation, we have a team working to understand how exactly genetics is tied to Parkinson's.
I believe that the findings from PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson's Disease have the potential to evolve how we treat Parkinson's, especially for those who know if they have a genetic tie to this disease. I find hope in knowing that the next Parkinson's breakthrough can happen in any lab, at any time. You can help the Parkinson's Foundation fund research today by supporting our Reach Further campaign.
Reach Further will invest an additional $30 million to accelerate progress on Parkinson's disease research, improve care, and increase access to quality-of-life programs. Learn more about the Reach Further campaign at Parkinson.org/Reach.
