£5million new funding to find cure for Parkinson's
29 October 2009
The Parkinson's Disease Society today announces The Monument Discovery Award - £5million over 5
years for groundbreaking new research, which aims to crack the code
of Parkinson's.
This will enable us to take a major step forward towards finding a cure. These are exciting times.
Steve Ford, Chief Executive
The funding is the largest single trust donation that we
have ever received.
The Monument Discovery Award
The Oxford Parkinson's Disease Consortium, a team of world-class
researchers at the University of Oxford led by
Dr Richard Wade-Martins, is the winner of the new Monument
Discovery Award.
The award is funded by The Monument Trust, one of the Sainsbury
Family Trusts. The Trust approached the Parkinson's Disease Society
with an offer to fund innovative new research to find a cure.
The project - 'Understanding the early pathological pathways in
Parkinson's disease' - goes back to basics.
It will look at 3 key areas of Parkinson's research with the aim
of discovering how Parkinson's develops and progresses, what the
early signals for Parkinson's are, and paving the way for new
and better treatments.
What will the researchers do?
Finding a way to diagnose Parkinson's much earlier, combined
with more effective treatments, could slow, halt or even reverse
the progression of the condition.
The researchers will set out to:
- identify specific molecules in cells and use brain imaging
techniques to predict whether a person will get Parkinson's
- identify and study alterations in new genes which may be
responsible for Parkinson's developing
- create new animal models with the symptoms of Parkinson's to
aid the development of new drugs and treatments
Dr Wade-Martins said:
"We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as the Discovery
Award winners.
"Our team includes world-class scientists from the
University of Oxford and two Medical Research Council Units
working across a number of different disciplines, including
genetics, neurology and imaging."
Passionate about finding a cure
Steve Ford, Parkinson's Disease Society Chief Executive, sums
up:
"We are the largest charitable funder of Parkinson's research in
the UK with an international reputation in funding
research.
"We are passionate about finding a cure for Parkinson's and our
research strategy is focused on this ambition. We are totally
dependent on voluntary income and there are so many more avenues to
explore.
"This very generous donation from The Monument Trust will enable
us to take a major step forward towards this goal. These are
exciting times."
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