12 Fox Focus | Community
From NYC to
Kyoto: Making
Connections
at WPC
Community members visit MJFF’s information booth
to learn about ways to get involved in research.
by ALLISON BOILES
More than 6,000 miles away from
The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s (MJFF)
headquarters in New York City, seven team
members from MJFF landed in Kyoto, Japan,
for the fifth World Parkinson Congress (WPC).
In a city brimming with Shinto shrines, imperial
gardens and cultural heritage sites, Kyoto
served as a meeting place for thousands of
Parkinson’s community members — patients,
care partners, researchers and industry — to
foster dialogue on the latest in Parkinson’s
disease research and care.
The Foundation’s home for the four-day
event was the MJFF information booth,
filled with orange flair, educational brochures
and laptops to register new participants
for our online clinical study, Fox Insight
(foxinsight.org). The booth also provided a
perfect backdrop to snap a few photos with
new and old friends from around the globe.
As a sponsor of the event, the Foundation’s
footprint extended throughout the halls
and exhibitions. MJFF staff and funded
investigators were featured during the WPC
program, including several research panels and
poster presentations. The Foundation also was
a co-sponsor of the Clinical Research Village,
where patients and families were invited
to learn the ins and outs of participating in
Parkinson’s studies. And MJFF Patient Council
Co-Chair Soania Mathur, MD, received the
WPC Award for Distinguished Contribution to
the Parkinson’s Community.
WPC’s mission is founded on bringing
together community every three years
through an international forum. With an
event that united more than 2,700 delegates
from 60 countries around the world, that
mission was accomplished. As Michael J.
Fox said during his keynote speech at the
inaugural World Parkinson Congress in 2006,
“Translating what we know about disease into
cures is all about making connections, working
together to lay tracks and never losing sight of
the destination.”