The Parkinson's Disease Foundation

The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) is a leading national presence in Parkinson’s disease research, education and public advocacy. We are working for the nearly one million people in the US who live with Parkinson’s by funding promising scientific research and supporting people with Parkinson’s, their families and caregivers through educational programs and support services.  Since its founding in 1957, PDF has funded over $70 million worth of scientific research in Parkinson’s disease, supporting the work of leading scientists throughout the world.

 Research

A central element in winning the fight against Parkinson’s disease (PD) is funding research of the highest caliber.  At PDF, we support promising Parkinson’s science in four distinct ways:  

• Funding leading Parkinson’s disease research centers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Cornell Weill Medical Center in New York City. 

• Encouraging promising young investigators to devote their talents to the study of Parkinson’s through mentored fellowships, training opportunities and career development grants.

• Funding talented independent investigators through our International Research Grants Program (IRGP).  

• Collaborating with other organizations on innovative projects, such as roundtable discussions, that explore novel areas of Parkinson’s research, including quality of life.

Education

The mission of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation is not only to pursue the cure for Parkinson’s but also to provide assistance to the people who live with the disease.  In pursuit of this second goal, PDF has developed several programs dedicated to providing education and support to people with Parkinson’s, their families, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

• Providing information and education to patients and families.  Through our Parkinson’s Information Service (PINS), a “one-stop shop” for the Parkinson’s disease community, our team of information specialists can answer questions about Parkinson’s via our toll-free helpline, (800) 457-6676, and our “Ask the Expert” web service.  PINS also offers an extensive line of informational print and video materials through our website.

• Raising public awareness of clinical trials.   In collaboration with other patient advocacy organizations, PDF leads PDtrials, an awareness and education campaign designed to raise awareness of clinical trials of potential Parkinson’s disease treatments. 

• Exploring issues relating to the quality of life among people who live with Parkinson’s.  PDF has launched a Quality of Life Initiative that includes sponsoring research on related issues and collecting and disseminating information on community resources via PDCreativity. We invite your participation at www.PDCreativity.org.

• Leading the 2006 World Parkinson Congress.  PDF played a major role in organizing and leading the first 2006 World Parkinson Congress, which brought together scientists, researchers, people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers, members of the media and industry representatives in an international forum for the best scientific discoveries, medical practices and caregiver initiatives. 

 Advocacy

For more than a decade, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation has assumed the role of public advocate on behalf of, and in collaboration with, people with Parkinson’s, their families and caregivers. 

• Advocate for the interests of the Parkinson’s community with government, primarily by providing significant financial and other support to the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN). 

• Under the umbrella of our Advancing Parkinson’s Therapies Initiative, work to bring better therapies to market more quickly by supporting advocates in their individual efforts to influence change and by facilitating conversations with researchers on clinical trial outcomes.

• In spring 2006, PDF launched the People with Parkinson's Advisory Council (PPAC) to provide the patient perspective to our program development and priority setting.  

• Reach out to media on healthcare issues and help to position the interests of the Parkinson’s community front and center on these and related issues.

• Led the formation of the New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research (NYAMR), a coalition of New York State-based disease advocacy groups, university research centers and biotech industry leaders that led the successful charge to secure state support for scientific research involving embryonic stem cells and other DNA therapies. On April 1, 2007, state leaders committed a total of $600 million to support this initiative.

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The Parkinson's Disease Foundation is a tax-exempt, charitable organization with offices in New York and Chicago.  Our organization has an annual budget of more than $9 million, and has corresponding relationships with over 100,000 members of the Parkinson's community.  PDF has received the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Charity Seal of Approval. 

To learn more about PDF and our programs, please click here to download our 2007 Annual Report.

For more information about PDF, please contact (800) 457-6676, info@pdf.org or www.pdf.org.

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