4
Fox Focus | Research
From the
Desk of
Todd Sherer, PhD,
Chief Executive Officer
PHOTO BY MARK SELIGER
Even in the midst of the extraordinary
COVID-19 situation, The Michael J. Fox
Foundation remains resolved in our goal of
lessening Parkinson’s individual and global
burden. Progress in Parkinson’s research
has continued to expand rapidly over the
past year. Today, the coronavirus means that
Foundation research partners and grantees
are coping with significant changes at their
home institutions. Our commitment to them
and to you is to be responsive to their needs
to keep critical neuroscience research moving
forward with as little disruption as possible.
Like most organizations worldwide, we have
postponed all public events until it is safe to
again convene large gatherings. But we are
pivoting to create more virtual opportunities
for researchers, patients and families to
connect with the Foundation and with each
other. Our ongoing research review meetings,
which convene thousands of academic and
industry researchers every year, are currently
being held online, in compliance with social
distancing mandates. And in the absence of
athletic events, educational seminars and
support group meetings, we’re offering people
with Parkinson’s a new roster of opportunities
for online engagement and education. Our
goal is to help you combat natural feelings of
isolation that come with both Parkinson’s and
shelter-at-home ordinances, and to keep you
informed of progress in Parkinson’s research
as well as practical, credible and up-to-date
COVID-19 information.
While staying at home is challenging for
many, it does offer an opportunity to help
move research forward by enrolling in Fox
Insight (foxinsight.org), our online long-term
clinical study. We hope you’ll join and become
one of the nearly 50,000 volunteers who are
providing information on the lived experience
of Parkinson’s disease. The more people we have
in the study, the more data we’ll be able to share
with researchers working to speed up Parkinson’s
therapeutic development. Over recent weeks, Fox
Insight participants have responded to surveys
about cannabis use, the role of mindfulness in
managing Parkinson’s disease, and COVID-19.
Our staff continues to work with urgency and
determination, albeit remotely, and we are
confident that progress in Parkinson’s research
will continue even through this temporary,
extraordinary circumstance.
As always, thank you for being part of our mission.