Fall / Winter 2019 | Research 3
“Ken’s gift stands
to level up the
pursuit of a
revolutionary
resource.”
Jamie Eberling, PhD
Director of Research Programs
at The Michael J. Fox Foundation
“The ability to detect and diagnose disease
in its earliest stages would give patients
answers sooner and allow researchers to
develop and test early intervention or even
prevention therapies,” said Jamie Eberling,
PhD, Director of Research Programs at MJFF.
“Ken’s gift stands to level up the pursuit of a
revolutionary resource.”
For many years, the Foundation has funded
independent studies and organized a
consortium toward an alpha-synuclein
imaging agent. In 2016, MJFF announced a
$2-million prize for the first team to show
clinical evidence of a tracer and make it
available to the research community at
large. (This fall, at the Foundation’s 2019
PD Therapeutics Conference, biotechnology
company AC Immune will share results from
one such trial.)
The Ken Griffin Alpha-synuclein Imaging
Competition brings these efforts to the
next level. The competition is structured to
drive independent scientific teams to race to
develop the synuclein tracer. The program is
open now and accepting applications with the
expectation of funding a total of $8.5 million to
as many as three winning research teams. The
team that progresses furthest in two years or
less will be awarded an additional $1.5 million
to continue the work and bring this game-
changing tool to life.
In his 2019 letter to investors, Griffin wrote:
“Firms with the greatest capabilities, the deepest
expertise and the most disciplined execution
continue to generate significant returns, while
firms that falter on these dimensions fall further
and further behind.” Powered by the support
of strategic philanthropists including Griffin,
as well as thousands of gifts from everyday
patients and families, the Foundation continues
striving to achieve such returns for the
Parkinson’s community.