TOGETHER: CATALYZED COMMUNITIES
THE MICHAEL J. FOX FOUNDATION 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW
Investing in the Future Parkinson’ s Research and Care
As the need for clinician – researchers specializing in Parkinson’ s continues to grow, the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation are making continued significant and long-term investments into training the next generation of movement disorder specialists.
Thanks to the generous support of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, the Edmond J. Safra Movement Disorder Fellowship is expanding: The program— which graduated its first class of five movement disorder clinician-researchers in 2018— will continue through 2031, producing a total of 103 movement disorder specialists who will bring specialized Parkinson’ s care for approximately 78,780 more people living with PD around the world.
Today, the Fellowship includes 41 centers in 13 countries and 14 U. S. states, demonstrating the program’ s global footprint. Beginning in 2026, the Fellowship will expand to 10 centers, essentially doubling the size of the program since its inception.
“ Our expanding network is an opportunity to continue widening the global footprint of this program, which— in turn— reaches even more people and families with Parkinson’ s around the world,” said Rachel Dolhun, MD, DipABLM, principal medical advisor at MJFF and leader of the Fellowship since its inception, in an interview with Forbes published earlier this year.“ Parkinson’ s is complex, and specialist care can improve patient outcomes in so many different ways.”
There is no better time than right now to invest in expanding care access and research focus for people with Parkinson’ s. According to a study published in The BMJ earlier this year, researchers estimate that the number of diagnosed cases of Parkinson’ s disease will grow, surpassing 25 million people diagnosed by 2050— a 112 percent increase in disease incidence since 2021. This growth stresses the importance of training more Parkinson’ s clinician – researchers: experts who not only care for people with Parkinson’ s,
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