“ The real aim of therapies is to make people feel and function better or keep them well. We match biology to the disease experience to understand how a precision approach may meaningfully impact a person living with Parkinson’ s.”
— Brian Fiske, PhD
10 Fox Focus | Research
“ The real aim of therapies is to make people feel and function better or keep them well. We match biology to the disease experience to understand how a precision approach may meaningfully impact a person living with Parkinson’ s.”
— Brian Fiske, PhD
MJFF Chief Scientist
also from some individuals not yet showing clinical symptoms.
With tools like the alpha-synuclein SAA allowing earlier detection, the field can move closer to early intervention, slowing disease even before the cardinal movement symptoms arise. MJFF and partners are planning such a trial.
“ If there’ s evidence of disease biology, like a positive SAA or brain scan showing decreased dopamine levels,” Dr. Siderowf explained,“ we can test a treatment to prevent a person from developing symptoms or delay that age of onset.”
Foundation Programs Form the Backbone for Discovery
Other MJFF-funded efforts such as the LRRK2 Investigative Therapeutics Exchange and the Global Parkinson’ s Genetics Program, a resource of the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’ s initiative, are driving discovery of disease markers and precision medicine targets. Programs like our Targets to Therapies and Therapeutic Pipeline Program initiatives lay a path for scientists to translate biological findings into future treatment possibilities. And PPMI’ s vast biobank and dataset are helping researchers gain insights into the different biological signals of disease and their ties to the lived experience of PD.
“ The real aim of therapies is to make people feel and function better or keep them well,” said Dr. Fiske.“ We match biology to the disease experience to understand how a precision approach may meaningfully impact a person living with Parkinson’ s.”
Each of these programs relies on contributions from people with Parkinson’ s to help learn about this complex disease and test new therapies. Rick Grant, from Bel Air, Maryland, stepped up. He participates in PPMI, and his LRRK2 variant made him eligible to join a drug trial.
“ If we can strike Parkinson’ s out right now— if my children don’ t have to have it or my grandchildren don’ t have to have it, if we make one person better— we’ ve done our job,” Grant said.