4 Fox Focus | Research
From the
Desk of
Todd Sherer, PhD,
Chief Executive Officer
PHOTO BY MARK SELIGER
9,059,697 phone books.
47.5 billion single-spaced
typed pages.
That’s the amount of paper it would take to
print out the data we’ve made available to
Parkinson’s researchers by conducting RNA
sequencing in our landmark clinical study, the
Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative
(PPMI). PPMI is by far the largest, most
comprehensive and robust Parkinson’s data
set ever created, collecting years of clinical
assessments, imaging scans and biological
samples from people with and without
Parkinson’s at various stages of disease.
Of course, scientists working urgently toward
cures do not have time to sit around reading the
phone book. They use sophisticated technology
to access and analyze PPMI data in real
time, gaining a deeper understanding of how
genetic changes and other factors play a role in
Parkinson’s disease onset and progression —
and how we can stop the disease in its tracks.
Turning mountains of data into better
treatments for Parkinson’s disease is
challenging. It requires equally enormous
expertise and resources to shed light on
disease processes, then translate that knowledge
into effective treatments.
That’s why The Michael J. Fox Foundation is
deeply grateful for your ongoing engagement
in and support of our work. This work takes
vision, collaboration, community-building and
financial support. It takes determination, and the
willingness to embrace smart risks and nimbly
pivot as the needs of the field evolve. All of this is
our commitment to you. We strive to see things as
they are, and as they could be. We are sober about
the work that remains ahead. But we will not give
up. We are problem-solvers, and we are optimistic.
Our shared goal of a world without Parkinson’s
relies, first and foremost, on you — who literally
contribute blood, sweat and tears to our mission
— in partnership with an army of scientists
worldwide on the front lines of transforming
your precious donations into new drugs. It relies
on patients, families, academic researchers,
industry teams and governments working
together to accelerate the science, because we
are all part of the answer.
We’re here until Parkinson’s isn’t. Thank you
for joining us.