Spring / Summer 2020 | Research
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servers, allowing results to more quickly
circulate to the wide range of scientists,
policymakers, business decision-makers
and medical teams working on Parkinson’s.
“Free and immediate access to findings allows
scientists to build on others’ work without
undue burden or delay,” says Todd Sherer,
PhD, CEO of the Foundation. “Open access
also becomes even more important as the
research rapidly uncovers new information
about the cellular bad actors involved in
Parkinson’s — the faster these results are
shared, the faster they can be developed and
move into human testing.”
The updated publication policy is the
latest expression of MJFF’s commitment
to collaboration, transparency and patient
benefit. The Foundation has established
multiple pre-competitive consortia for
data-sharing and scientific problem-solving;
convenes awardees leading its portfolio of
770 active grants for regular assessment
meetings and workshops to discuss progress,
challenges and strategies to advance fieldwide
goals (these meetings are currently being held
virtually, in compliance with temporary social
distancing mandates); makes data from its
sponsored studies — such as the landmark
Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative
and the online Fox Insight study — available
in real time to qualified researchers on
ppmi-info.org and foxden.michaeljfox.org,
respectively; and has invested in the creation
and efficient distribution of more than 100
sophisticated laboratory tools to date to speed
discovery and validation.
The Foundation will cover the cost of open
access publication, including the publication
of articles resulting from past MJFF research
grants. Researchers who initiate a grant
contract under the new policy will be required
to comply with the policy, available in its
entirety at michaeljfox.org/openaccesspolicy,
to remain eligible for future MJFF funding.
“Free and immediate
access to findings
allows scientists
to build on others’
work without undue
burden or delay.”
“Until now, published work from the medical
research community has been held behind a
paywall, unavailable except for a substantial
fee, to any individual not associated with an
academic institution or hospital,” said Nobel
Laureate Randy Schekman, PhD, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
and Professor of Cell and Developmental
Biology at the University of California,
Berkeley. “With this new open access policy,
Parkinson’s disease families will now have
access to the cutting-edge knowledge
generated from research labs and clinics that
are supported by funds from The Michael
J. Fox Foundation. I am so pleased that the
patient advocacy community has pushed for
this change, and as a result, we may soon see
this open access policy applied by the federal
government to all publicly funded research.”