Dear PPMI Participant,
I am a basic scientist in whose laboratory a molecule was discovered
that is currently being studied in a PD clinical trial. In the long process of
therapeutic development, my team and I did the easy part. The hard part
is in the translational and clinical studies that define how to effectively and
safely use the molecule we discovered, and to determine if it truly modifies
the course of the disease and improves the quality of life of PD patients.
Clinicians and scientists cannot accomplish these latter objectives without
the active collaboration of PD patients and, in the case of PPMI, individuals
who provide the critical basis of comparison.
PPMI is a landmark study that will facilitate the difficult process of
therapeutic development. Being a participant in a study such as PPMI is
hard. I appreciate this from personal experience, as I have been a research
participant in a similar study (developing biomarkers for prostate cancer).
I have experienced the inconvenience, the hassle and the discomfort that
being a participant in a longitudinal study entails.
I have the privilege of serving as the Chair of the Biospecimen Review
Committee of PPMI. Our committee reviews applications from scientists
to gain access to the biospecimens (blood, CSF, etc.) that you generously
provide at your PPMI visits. We take this responsibility very seriously and
work hard to make sure, by many criteria, that these samples are used in a
way that is highly likely to provide information that will advance the mission
of PPMI.
I want to personally thank every PPMI participant for what you have done and
will do in this noble effort.
Sincerely,
Gene Johnson, PhD
Professor, Washington University School of Medicine
Chief Scientific Advisor, MJFF Scientific Advisory Board
Chair, PPMI Biospecimen Review Committee
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