The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded $2.1 million in funding to help discover the biological roots of Parkinson’s disease and help find a cure.
The foundation’s donation falls under Target Validation, one of its core programs with the initiative to test early-stage biological effects of Parkinson’s and "conclusively confirm that a biological target plays a role in disease and that by modifying the target, symptoms or disease course can be altered," as stated by the foundation’s website.
The $2.1 will be awarded to 10 research teams spread across six countries that are working to discover various "therapeutic targets" as well as treatments for the disease.
In 2008 the Target Validation program was named as one of the foundation’s three Edmond J. Safra Core Programs for Parkinson’s Disease Research along with Rapid Response Innovation Awards and Clinical Intervention Awards. The programs were named after Safra, the late founder of the philanthropic Edmond J. Safra Foundation and a longtime supporter of the foundation, in 2008.
"Caring for the sick took priority over everything else in my husband’s life," said Safra’s wife Lily Safra at time of the program’s naming. "During his lifetime he helped countless people receive medical treatment and was a generous supporter of scientific research around the world. It is therefore our privilege to be a partner in the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s innovative, creative, and strategic efforts to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease."
The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was founded by 48-year-old actor best known for his roles in Family Ties and the Back To The Future trilogy, has donated $149 million in research, either directly or through partnerships, towards finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
