Advancing Research

Parkinson’s Foundation Presents Five Findings at International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders®

Oct 01, 2024

Every year thousands of Parkinson’s disease (PD) experts and researchers share research findings that have the potential to help people living with Parkinson’s at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. This year the conference took place from September 27 to October 1 in Philadelphia, PA.

The Parkinson’s Foundations shared five new Parkinson’s studies, revealing new information about genetics research, care and our work with the Black and African American community. These findings offer new hope for people living with PD and caregivers alike.

Explore the five research findings the Parkinson’s Foundation shared with the international PD community below:

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1. Expanding the PD Generation Study to Increase Clinical Genetic Testing and Counseling Using Whole Genome Sequencing Among Diverse Parkinson’s Populations

PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s disease is a Parkinson’s Foundation research study that offers genetic testing and counseling, in English and Spanish, to people with Parkinson’s through a whole genome sequencing platform. This study aims to simplify access to clinical genetic testing to people with PD and offer educational materials to clinicians on PD genetics.

Key Takeaways:

The study has enrolled 18,003 participants, as of September 2024.

The study has expanded to five countries from Latin America (Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador), Israel, Canada, and 10 additional sites in the U.S. that focus on underrepresented populations.

12.2% of people with Parkinson’s, who have completed testing, tested positive on the PD GENEration 7-gene panel.

By providing genetic testing to all those interested and from all backgrounds, the study helps inform care, diversify the data, help engage people in research, and qualify more for enrollment in clinical trials for PD.

PD GENEration goals include helping accelerate clinical trials in PD, improving PD care and research and empowering people with PD and their care teams.

Learn more & enroll in PD GENEration.

2. Engagement of the Black and African American Community in PD Genetics Research

Advancements in understanding the biological pathways of Parkinson’s have largely been focused on people of European ancestry. There is a critical need to understand genetic differences across populations, including people with African ancestry. The Parkinson’s Foundation partnered with Morehouse School of Medicine, a historically Black institution of medicine to improve inclusion in PD GENEration, prioritize PD awareness, education and resources; and tailor our research advocacy training program — the Learning Institute.

Key Takeaways:

Through this partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, from November 2021 to March 2024, 157 Black and African American participants enrolled in PD GENEration.

14 community education events were held, including the Learning Institute in September 2023.

Media was developed and utilized to expand reach and included two webinars, five podcasts and six blogs/news articles.

Establishing partnerships with trusted sources of the Black community is critical to providing equitable access to PD education and resources, including PD GENEration. Focusing on diversity and inclusion in PD GENEration will accelerate breakthroughs towards a cure for PD.

Learn more about our impactful partnership with Morehouse.

3. Benefits of Parkinson’s Team Training Are Maintained Long-term

The goal of Parkinson’s Foundation Team Training is to provide more coordinated and complete patient-centered care to improve the quality of life of people with PD and caregivers. Our study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the training program and determine if the benefits of Team Training are maintained long-term.

Key Takeaways:

Through Team Training, team members become more effective in delivering better interprofessional, patient-centered care.

Results showed significant and sustained improvements in:

Healthcare professional confidence in various measures of providing care

Team coordination working with persons with PD and their care partners

Understanding of the other team member roles and how team members can assist in the care of persons with PD and their care partners.

The effectiveness of the Team Training program’s education is maintained and sustained long term. Better care leads to better lives for those living with PD and their care partners.

Parkinson’s Foundation Team Training provides a continuing education program for healthcare professionals to learn more about PD and how to develop and maintain an effective PD interprofessional team.

Explore our Learning Lab courses, designed for healthcare professionals.

4. Engage, Educate and Empower: Parkinson’s Research Advocates from the Black and African American Community

Black and African American people with Parkinson's face significant disparities in care, including delays in diagnosis and treatment, limited access to care and historical exclusion from research. To address these challenges, the Parkinson’s Foundation Research Advocacy Training program, the Learning Institute, was tailored to engage, educate, and empower the Black community in Parkinson’s research.

Key Takeaways:

The Learning Institute was held in September 2023. 33 people from the Black community were trained in research advocacy.

Many research advocates felt prepared to begin research advocacy (79%) and most felt excited about the work they can do as a research advocate (83%).

To date, 17 advocacy tasks were completed by 26 research advocates, including presentations at local churches and health fairs, panelists at a Parkinson’s Foundation community-based program, and partnerships with researchers.

The Learning Institute empowered African Americans living with PD to become advocates for community outreach and engagement. This program has the potential to drive meaningful change, enhance health equity, and improve outcomes for those living with PD in the Black and African American community.

Learn more about our research advocates.

5. Hospital Care Learning Collaborative: Sharing Strategies to address the Parkinson’s Foundation Inpatient Clinical Care Standards

With the launch of the Parkinson’s Foundation Hospital Care Learning Collaborative, the Foundation in partnership with healthcare leaders, clinicians and institutions, aims to eliminate preventable harm and promote higher reliability in care for people with Parkinson’s in the hospital. The Learning Collaborative work to implement quality improvement projects focused on improving hospital safety for people with PD. Participants shared strategies and best practices to address the hospital care standards, as outlined in the Parkinson’s Foundation Hospital Care Recommendations.

Key Takeaways:

A framework to work with the hospital IT team to request adjustments to the Electronic Health Record, including the ability to customize times for Parkinson’s medication orders.

Strategies to avoid medication delays in the event of safety concerns due to swallowing challenges (dysphagia), including the use of crushed Parkinson’s medication and an automated trigger for a Speech Language Pathologist evaluation.

The use of an Electronic Health Record alert when unsafe medications are ordered, offering alternatives that are already approved by the hospital Pharmaceutical & Therapeutics committee.

The Parkinson’s Foundation is committed to improving hospital safety for people with PD. In addition to our Hospital Safety Guide, a resource for people with Parkinson's and care partners, the Foundation works with hospitals and health systems to help promote awareness and delivery of the best care for the Parkinson’s community.

Read and download the Hospital Safety Guide today.

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Stay up to date with Parkinson’s Foundation through our Parkinson’s Today blog.

My PD Story

Researchers

Trisha Pasricha, MD

2024 Impact Award

Exploring Gut Health Biomarkers as Early Indicators for Parkinson’s

The ability to identify Parkinson’s disease (PD) in people before the onset of progressing movement and cognitive changes is a major goal of PD research. Through retrospective studies, some early symptoms have been routinely noted in people years prior to their PD diagnoses, making them potential flags for catching the disease sooner. Gastroparesis, which consists of bloating and nausea, is an example of a symptom experienced earlier in life by a large majority of those with PD. However, this condition is also common amongst people who never develop PD, making it difficult to use as a reliable PD indicator without more data.

Trisha Pasricha, MD, and recipient of a Parkinson’s Foundation Impact Award, aims to compare the gut biology of those with and without PD using innovative new technology, to discover the biomarkers of PD-linked gastroparesis that will improve future diagnoses.

Previous research into the active biology of the gut has been limited due to the difficulty in collecting useful tissue samples from live donors. Fortunately, recent technological advances in biopsy collection tools now allow researchers like Dr. Pasricha to safely obtain “full-thickness” gut tissue samples with more deeper layers of the gut wall for study.

From her lab at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, Dr. Pasricha will analyze the gastric biology of full-thickness gut tissue samples collected from:

People with PD in all stages

People with gastroparesis, without PD

People without either condition

Each layer of the gut wall consists of a diverse mix of muscle, connective tissue, neurons and immune cells. Dr. Pasricha, using a wide range of measurement tools and techniques, will investigate which cell types in which layers are most differentially impacted in PD gastroparesis compared to non-PD gastroparesis. The goal of these comparisons is to highlight potential gut biomarkers that will allow future physicians to spot PD earlier from initial gastrointestinal issues.

She will also compare these biomarker results to clinical assessments from the tissue donors with PD, looking for correlations between gut health and disease severity to further explore the link between the two.

As a clinician working directly with people with PD experiencing gastrointestinal issues, Dr. Pasricha is inspired to receive the Parkinson’s Foundation grant and motivated to begin this translational research.

“I have met countless patients living with Parkinson's who seek my help treating their gastrointestinal symptoms,” she said. “I am grateful that because of this award I will be able share with my patients that I am part of the community of scientists working to address the bigger unmet needs of patients like themselves. These findings may be leveraged toward establishing future gastrointestinal biomarkers or therapeutic targets to help alleviate those suffering from this disease.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

My PD Story

Researchers

Henry Houlden, PhD

2024 Impact Award

Exploring a Unique Genetic Risk Factor for Parkinson’s in Black and African American Populations

Along with aging and environmental factors, genetics is one of the three major factors involved in the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Ongoing research aims to find disease-associated gene mutations to better understand PD and how to prevent or treat it. While many critical discoveries have been made from such studies, it is important to note that the research to date has been predominantly conducted using genetic samples from those of European ancestries, leaving a gap of scientific knowledge for those people with PD of other ancestries.

Henry Houlden, PhD, a recipient of a Parkinson’s Foundation Impact Award, will be expanding the diversity of our genetic understanding of PD by studying a newly discovered disease-associated mutation found nearly exclusively in African American and African-admixed (people of African heritage outside of Africa) populations through a fruitful partnership with Professor Njideka Ulunma Okubadejo, MBCHB, MD, FMCP, FAAN, and her team in Lagos, Nigeria, and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

The mutation in question was found when Dr. Houlden and colleagues previously performed a genome-wide association study with DNA samples from nearly 200,000 people of African American and African-admixed ancestry, approximately 1,500 of whom have PD. This type of study analyzes the entirety of each person’s DNA and highlights similarities and differences between the genes of those with and without the disease, offering potential genetic clues as to which mutations are linked to PD.

One of the clues Dr. Houlden found was a PD-linked mutation in the DNA region that helps make an enzyme called GCase (glucocerebrosidase). While PD-linked mutations in this region have previously been found, this mutation seems to affect how the enzyme works in ways that have not been observed before in similar, European ancestry-related mutations.

To better understand how this mutation may lead to PD, Dr. Houlden will measure various genetic and biochemical factors related to GCase in 72 blood and tissue samples from people of African American and African-admixed ancestry with and without PD. He will also use parts of those samples to create petri-dish neurons of these donors, allowing him (and future researchers) to more effectively investigate how the mutation may drive the development of PD.

From these experiments, Dr. Houlden will generate valuable data advancing our understanding of this African-ancestry PD risk factor and contribute to new PD treatments for these underrepresented populations.

From his lab in the University College London Institute of Neurology in the United Kingdom, Dr. Houlden is ready to continue his impactful research through Parkinson’s Foundation grant funding.

“I am very interested in Parkinson's disease in diverse populations I think this is a major link that is missing in our research strategy and will bring significant findings important to PD across the world,” he said. “The award will also exemplify how foundations around the world, such as the Parkinson's Foundation, are funding global research and understand the need to investigate and form partnerships with diverse populations for research.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

My PD Story

Researchers

Fuu-Jiun Hwang, PhD

2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship

Exploring and Unlocking Motor Memory in Parkinson’s

Despite how simple daily movements like walking, using utensils, or riding a bike may seem, they require the precise and instantaneous activation of complex networks of neurons. As we learn to perform these types of movements, the brain stores these neuronal activation patterns, allowing us to utilize them seamlessly in the future, making the movements feel effortless. For people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), that effortlessness diminishes as common PD symptoms make even simple movements challenging.

Fuu-Jiun Hwang, PhD, recipient of a Parkinson’s Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, aims to discover whether those motor memories are still present in the brain but have become inaccessible in PD, and if so, how they can be reactivated.

The scientific term for how the brain “memorizes” physical actions is motor learning. This process results in the formation of motor memory engrams, which are the specific activation patterns and timing of neurons needed to perform a memorized action.

Motor memory engrams are like songs played by an orchestra. Specific musicians (neurons) must play the right notes in the right order (activation patterns) to perform the song. After enough practice, when the conductor asks the orchestra to play a certain song (a movement), they know exactly what to do (effortless engram utilization).

Dr. Hwang, working in the lab of Jun Ding at Stanford University, will use advanced neurochemical tools in mouse brains to visualize and map the motor memory engrams associated with a forelimb-reaching task, a well-established motor learning behavior task in mice. He will then induce PD-like brain disruption in the mice and observe whether the same engrams activate when the mice perform the learned task, or if the disease alters the neuron patterns involved. Additionally, Dr. Hwang will explore whether administering levodopa — the most potent PD medication — can restore the original engrams altered by the disease.

Previous neuroscience research has shown that repeated practice and performance of actions rewires the brain to reinforce and improve the associated motor memory engram, a phenomenon known as synaptic plasticity. Dr. Hwang plans to take his experimental model further to examine whether synaptic plasticity associated with the motor engram is also impacted by PD.

The discoveries from these experiments will help Dr. Hwang and other PD neuroscientists better understand how motor memory and learning are affected by Parkinson’s disease, and what potential treatments could be developed to address movement symptoms at their source.

Reflecting on the significance of the Parkinson’s Foundation grant, Dr. Hwang said, “Receiving this award is crucial for supporting my research on motor engrams and their application to Parkinson’s disease. Ultimately, this award will help me contribute to the understanding of PD and develop novel therapeutic strategies, potentially improving the lives of individuals affected by this debilitating disease.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

My PD Story

Researchers

Rebecca Wallings, PhD

2024 Launch Award

Giving Brain Immune Cells a Boost as a New Preventative Parkinson’s Therapy

Immune cells play a critical role in protecting our bodies from infection and disease. As we slow down with age, these cells also become less effective. Aging is the greatest risk factor for Parkinson’s disease (PD), so learning how immune cells are affected by aging and how PD-related mutations may accelerate such impacts is of keen interest to researchers.

Rebecca Wallings, PhD, a recipient of a Parkinson’s Foundation Launch Award, is investigating how aging impairs a certain type of immune cell outside the brain — and how this impairment impacts cells within the brain that contribute to the development of PD.

Immune cells can be divided into two groups:

Innate immune cells that are the first responders to injuries and exposures.

Adaptive immune cells that “learn” from past infections to provide enhanced protection from repeat threats in the future.

These two types of cells communicate and collaborate in complex ways to help the body recover quickly and stay healthy.

Dr. Wallings, working in the lab of Dr. Malu Tansey at the University of Florida, has previously found that a PD-related mutation causes innate immune cells outside the brain in to become “exhausted,” unable to respond to infections or other inflammatory alarms in the body. Since these immune cells are so involved with other cell types to keep the brain healthy, this aging-related exhaustion likely has hidden causes and consequences worth exploring.

In her upcoming experiments, Dr. Wallings will use human cell samples from donors with and without PD to see if innate immune cell exhaustion prevents them from being able to communicate with healthy adaptive immune cells. She will then utilize mice with and without PD-related mutations to better understand how this immune cell exhaustion plays into the progressive neurodegeneration common to PD, measuring and comparing brain health over time.

“What the Parkinson’s Foundation has done with this award is show me that they are willing to invest in me, and they believe in the potential impact my research may have on the field and, most importantly, on patients’ lives.”

There is evidence that immune cell exhaustion is due to malfunctioning mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells that provide the energy they need to perform their functions. Delving into this further, Dr. Wallings will also test if reinforcing or repairing these immune cell mitochondria could have potential to serve as a future preventative treatment option for PD.

Asked about the impact of her research and how this award supports it, Dr. Wallings said, “My research is at the forefront of a potential paradigm shift in the neurodegeneration field and may change the way researchers think about the role of the immune system in PD.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

My PD Story

Researchers

Amitabh Bhattacharya, PhD

2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship

Using Ultrasound Stimulation as a New Way to Address Freezing of Gait

Freezing of gait is a common Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptom characterized by a temporary, involuntary inability to move. This symptom can be frustrating at best and dangerous at worst, as it increases the risk of falls. Unfortunately, standard dopaminergic medications and even deep brain stimulation (DBS) have shown little to no benefit in treating freezing of gait, highlighting the need for alternative therapies.

Amitabh Bhattacharya, PhD, recipient of the Parkinson’s Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, believes that non-invasive ultrasound stimulation (TUS) could offer a promising solution for reducing freezing of gait symptoms without the need for expensive and invasive surgery.

Working in the lab of Dr. Robert Chen, a 2023 Parkinson’s Foundation Impact Awardee, at the University Health Network (UHN) in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Bhattacharya will be leading a study to test the effectiveness of TUS in treating movement symptoms in people with PD who experience freezing of gait.

Participants, recruited with help from the Toronto Western Hospital Movement Disorders Clinic, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, will first undergo a high-resolution brain scan to create a detailed map of their brain, focusing on the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), a key region that helps control movement. This initial scan will be used to model and plan the TUS treatment, ensuring that the sound waves are precisely targeted to hit the intended area of the brain.

Over three visits in the following months, study participants will receive personalized TUS treatments to monitor if freezing of gait symptoms improve, measured with walking tests and clinical symptom severity scales. Follow-up MRIs will also allow Dr. Bhattacharya to observe how the treatment has influenced brain function over time, providing insights into the most effective stimulation protocols.

The findings from this research will inform and shape future experiments and clinical trials, with the ultimate aim of developing ultrasound treatments for PD gait symptoms that are not only safe and effective but also widely accessible to those in need. Given the lack of effective treatments for freezing of gait, this research could pave the way for a much-needed breakthrough to manage this challenging symptom.

When asked what the Parkinson’s Foundation grant means to him, Dr. Bhattacharya said, “This award is a major morale booster and a catalyst for innovation, allowing me to focus on developing treatments that can profoundly impact patient care. TUS treatment could revolutionize the management of freezing of gait, enhancing treatment outcomes for patients.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

Advancing Research

Meet a Researcher Using Ultrasound Stimulation to Address Freezing of Gait

Sep 10, 2024

Freezing of gait is a common Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptom where a person experiences the temporary, involuntary inability to move. This can make simple activities, like walking across a room, incredibly challenging and dangerous due to the risk of falls. Unfortunately, common Parkinson’s medications often don’t alleviate these freezing episodes. This has led researchers like Amitabh Bhattacharya, PhD, from the University Health Network (UHN) in Canada, to explore new treatments.

What is a transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS)?

Transcranial: “Through the skull,” noninvasively
Ultrasound: A high-frequency soundwave safe for brain stimulation
Stimulation: The use of the ultrasonic soundwaves to activate neurons

Dr. Bhattacharya is a recipient of a 2024 Parkinson’s Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, and will use this support to study how TUS can be utilized to help people with PD create personalized non-invasive treatments that targets freezing of gait.

“We will apply focused ultrasound waves to a specific part of the brain known as the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), a key region that helps control movement,” he said. “By precisely stimulating the PPN, we hope to make walking easier for people with Parkinson’s.”

Participants, recruited with help from the Toronto Western Hospital Movement Disorders Clinic, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, will first undergo a high-resolution brain scan to create a detailed map of their brain, focusing on the PPN. This personalized brain map will guide the ultrasound device to ensure that the sound waves are precisely directed to the right spot.

Each participant will receive three personalized TUS treatments, using different stimulation protocols to determine the most effective approach. To evaluate how well each protocol works, participants will be assessed before and after each session using tests that measure their walking ability, mental function, and brain activity.

Finally, Dr. Bhattacharya will have enough scientific evidence to determine the ability of TUS in improving freezing of gait, as well as how to keep improving the technique to make it even safer and more effective.

Dr. Bhattacharya is confident in this treatment’s potential to improve the lives of those experiencing PD-associated freezing of gait. “Targeting the PPN through non-invasive means such as TUS holds immense promise,” he said. “The ability of PPN-TUS to modulate these essential neural circuits could help restore a degree of normal motor function, thereby mitigating symptoms such as freezing of gait in PD.”

The goal of this study is to explore TUS as a practical and effective treatment for freezing of gait in Parkinson’s Disease. TUS is a non-invasive approach that could offer a quicker, more accessible, and cost-effective option for patients. By avoiding the complexities and recovery time associated with surgical procedures like deep-brain stimulation (DBS), TUS has the potential to enhance mobility and improve quality of life. The accessibility of this new potential treatment is top-of-mind for Dr. Bhattacharya.

“PPN-TUS offers a non-invasive, cost-effective alternative with fewer potential complications compared to PPN-DBS,” he said. “This study could transform the way we help Parkinson's patients regain their mobility. If successful, this non-invasive method may eventually become a standard treatment, offering improved quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s disease.”

Meet more Parkinson’s researchers! Explore our My PD Stories featuring PD researchers.

Advancing Research

Neuro Talk: Three Exciting Advancements in Parkinson’s Disease Research

Aug 06, 2024

Each year, the Parkinson’s Foundation funds the most innovative and promising ideas in Parkinson’s disease (PD) research. Recognizing that breakthroughs can emerge from any corner of the globe and at any moment, we provide funding to researchers worldwide, from early career scientists to doctors who treat patients every day.

In this Neuro Talk, Chief Scientific Officer James Beck, PhD, spotlights three researchers whose research is funded by the Parkinson’s Foundation. Dr. Beck highlights how these studies can impact the future of PD treatments.

Advancing Research

Research Shows Genetic Variants Are More Common in People with Parkinson’s Than Originally Thought

Jul 30, 2024

New Parkinson’s Foundation research has found that genetic variants associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are more common than researchers previously believed.

Investigators in the Parkinson’s Foundation PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease study found that 13% of participants have a genetic form of PD — a significant observation compared to long-standing estimates. Results from the first 3.5 years of the study, which examined a broad North American cohort, was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Brain.

PD GENEration reached its goal of 15,000 participants this spring, ahead of schedule. Through the study, the Parkinson’s Foundation offers genetic testing for PD-related genes to any person with a confirmed PD diagnosis.

PD GENEration is the first of its kind to return results via live genetic counseling in English or Spanish. This enables participants and physicians to make more informed decisions about their care, including enrollment in gene-specific clinical trials.

Key PD GENEration findings published in Brain include:

7.7% of participants carried a GBA1 genetic mutation, 2.1% of participants carried a PRKN genetic mutation, and 2.4% of participants carried a LRRK2 genetic mutation. All participants were informed about their genetic status through the genetic counseling component of the program.
The positivity rate for a genetic variant is significantly higher for individuals with high risk. Those with young-onset PD, high-risk ancestry (such as Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish Basque, or North African Berber), or a first-degree relative affected with the disease had an 18% positivity rate. The positivity rate for individuals without one of those risk factors was nearly 10%.
Many of these participants may qualify for precision medicine trials, showing the feasibility and importance of broadly offering genetic testing.

“We did not anticipate the high positivity rate for genetic mutations, specifically the nearly 10% having a positive result even without any known genetic risk factors,” said Roy Alcalay, MD, MS, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel, and the Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and lead principal investigator for PD GENEration. “Further, the speed at which participants enrolled in PD GENEration is a testament to the interest of people with PD to obtain data on their genetic status. Taken together, the positivity rate and the high interest in getting genotyped will hopefully translate to increased participation in observational studies and clinical trials toward therapies targeting these genes, simplifying precision medicine clinical trials in PD.”

Announcing the Next Phase

PD GENEration is moving into its next phase with support from the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2), a program of the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) initiative. ASAP's funding allows the Parkinson’s Foundation to accelerate the study’s impact by focusing on those who have been historically underrepresented in research.

Through wide-scale recruitment, the study is reaching a larger and more diverse community in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The Parkinson’s Foundation aims to enroll an additional 8,000 participants, including 2,400 in Latin America, during the next phase of the study.

“PD GENEration is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all populations, with the goal of improving clinical outcomes for everyone. We are proud that the data we have collected through PD GENEration reflects the largest and most diverse North American cohort ever tested – and even though we reached our initial recruitment goal of 15,000 this spring, bigger things are on the horizon,” said James Beck, PhD, Parkinson’s Foundation chief scientific officer.

Read the full press release

Learn more and enroll in PD GENEration.

Raise Awareness

5 Volunteers Making a Difference

Jul 25, 2024

Across the country and beyond, Parkinson’s Foundation volunteers are going out and making a difference in the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their loved ones. They help us spread awareness and resources to those who need it most.

The dedication from our volunteers is what makes the Parkinson’s Foundation what it is today. We are honored to recognize five exceptional volunteers at the national level, who each received a 2024 volunteer award.

Dr. Reversa Joseph - Great Lakes Chapter

Paul Oreffice Volunteer of the Year

“Volunteering for the Parkinson's Foundation is more than just a commitment; it’s a deeply personal mission. Each effort, whether it’s a presentation, a lecture, or a podcast, is a step towards improving the lives of those affected by Parkinson’s, honoring my father’s struggle, and ensuring that every patient receives the comprehensive, integrative care they deserve.”

Read Reversa’s full story

Esther Labib-Kiyarash – Southwest Chapter

Rising Star

“Along the way I have learned that there are many things, tips and tricks that the people who live the best with this disease share: exercise, positive thinking, being around others like themselves and giving back. The Parkinson’s Foundation is a great way to give back.”

Read Esther’s full story

Roland and Shelley Frankel – Midwest Chapter

Top Fundraiser

As the somber saying goes, a parent should never have to bury their child. But in March 2023 Roland and Shelley Frankel had to do just that. Their son Graeme had been fighting Parkinson’s for five years and passed from an asthma-related emergency. To keep Graeme’s memory alive, the family decided to start a DIY fundraiser with the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Read Roland and Shelley’s full story

Debra Flynn – Florida Chapter

Community Service Award

“I really enjoy volunteering. I see it as another way to celebrate movement. I move my brain cells around; I motivate my soul to do good things; and volunteering moves forward the search for a cure.”

Read Debra’s full story

There are many powerful ways to get involved and support the Parkinson’s Foundation and our work to make life better for people with Parkinson's. Get started with our How You Can Help page. This page will give you options for volunteering, starting your own DIY Fundraiser, or even just donating to the cause.

You can also fill out a volunteer interest form to chat with our volunteer engagement team about how we can best put your skills to use. Help us bring life-saving information and resources to the hands of those who need them most.

Already a volunteer? Check out our course offerings today!

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