The Foundation supports research across basic, translational and clinical science to speed breakthroughs that can lead to the creation of new treatments and a better quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease.
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Previously funded studies appear chronologically, with the most recent appearing first.
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Rapid Response Innovation Awards, 2011Development of Dopaminergic Cell Line Models of Alpha-synuclein Expression for High-throughput Drug Screenings and Monitoring of Alpha-synuclein Expression
Objective/Rationale:
Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects millions of people in the United States, and it is caused by the death of neurons that produce dopamine. A large body of experimental evidence... -
MJFF Research Grant, 2011Development of Hsf1 Effectors as Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics
Objective/Rationale:
This project focuses on the development of small molecule therapeutics to treat Parkinson’s disease by advancing lead compounds that elevate the abundance of protein chaperones.... -
Rapid Response Innovation Awards, 2011Transport and Transfer of Misfolded Alpha-synuclein in Neurons
Objective/Rationale:
Alpha-synuclein is a protein found in human neurons that can adopt a toxic form whose spread may be responsible for Parkinson’s disease. We showed that toxic alpha-synuclein is... -
MJFF Research Grant, 2011Investigating Signaling Pathway Dysfunction Linked to LRRK2
Promising Outcomes of Original Grant:
Our project investigated whether LRRK2 had an impact on a particular signaling system in the cell called the mTOR pathway. This pathway helps to control how cells... -
Therapeutics Development Initiative, 2011Delivery of GDNF to the Brain by Novel Nanovesicles for the Treatment of PD
Objective/Rationale:
GDNF has the potential to halt the progression of, or reverse, PD. However, GDNF, a large protein, does not get into the brain when given orally or intravenously. Our novel nano... -
Therapeutics Development Initiative, 2011Dopamine D1 Positive Modulators for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
Objective/Rationale:
L-DOPA is the standard treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) but prolonged use results in dyskinesia. D2 agonists often require L-DOPA supplementation and can cause side effects...

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Our funding programs support basic, translational and clinical research from academia and industry.