4 Fox Focus | Research
From the Desk of
Todd Sherer , PhD , Chief Executive Officer
PHOTO BY MARK SELIGER
The coronavirus has forced many aspects of daily life to pause , but Parkinson ’ s still impacts the nearly 6 million worldwide living with this disease and their loved ones . We know great need still remains , so at The Michael J . Fox Foundation , we haven ’ t stopped in our pursuit of cures .
Patients need research to keep moving forward . And what Parkinson ’ s research needs now is for the Foundation to keep pace with shifting priorities and quickly translate one learning to the next , accelerating the slow march of science . Our commitment to the Parkinson ’ s community is steadfast , and we work with urgency to help fill gaps and provide necessary resources toward our goal of a world without this disease .
This year , to date , our Foundation has committed $ 60 million in grants supporting a range of studies to learn more about Parkinson ’ s , predict and measure its progression , and stop the disease and its symptoms . Our research staff is working diligently to prioritize projects and quickly deploy available funds to keep science moving , and these grants are going to the most missioncritical programs with the greatest potential to push new treatments to patient hands .
From your contributions to real results , you ’ re here with us . You enrolled in Fox Insight (
foxinsight . org ), sharing how you think and talk about fatigue , “ off ” time and more , creating a Parkinson ’ s dictionary that could lead to clearer understanding of how people experience their symptoms . And 7,209 individuals responded in earnest to a COVID-19 survey — equaling an incredible 10 survey responses nearly every hour over 30 days — to identify the effects of the global pandemic on Parkinson ’ s symptoms and disruptions in care .
The Parkinson ’ s community has also stood up during this challenging time to donate urgently needed funds for research and to engage with us . You are logging on , tuning into virtual events , taking online actions and clicking “ Donate ” again and again , showing us that we are progressing together , now more than ever .
As always , thank you .
“ During this time of much uncertainty , the continued support of MJFF allows us to advance our programs to better measure Parkinson ’ s and assess therapies . People with this disease are still waiting for answers and new treatments , and the Foundation ’ s funding provides a foothold to keep climbing to cures .” — Andrea Pfeifer , PhD ; CEO of AC Immune SA