Clinton Zheng
The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Email: donations@michaeljfox.org
Phone: +1 18007087644
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/10/23
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded the 2023 Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research to Dario Alessi, PhD, biochemist, director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit and professor of signal transduction at the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, UK. The prize recognizes researchers who make exceptional contributions to Parkinson’s disease (PD) research and are committed to mentoring the next generation of Parkinson’s scientists.
Research and fund
The Foundation works towards “translational” research—the work of translating basic scientific discoveries into simple treatments with definition to benefit the estimated five million people living with Parkinson’s disease today.
The Foundation drives progress by awarding grants to ensure that the most promising research avenues are thoroughly funded, explored and carried forward toward pharmacy shelves. The Foundation’s four annually recurring Pipeline Programs aim to speed research along the drug development pipeline.The Pipeline Programs include:
Rapid Response Innovation Awards quickly support high-risk, high-reward projects with little to no existing preliminary data, but potential to significantly impact our understanding or treatment of PD (an Edmond J. Safra Core Program for PD Research).
Target Validation Awards provide support for work demonstrating whether modulation of a novel biological target has impact in a PD-relevant pre-clinical model — an essential step to the development of potential targeted therapies (an Edmond J. Safra Core Program for PD Research).
Clinical Intervention Awards support clinical testing of promising PD therapies that may significantly and fundamentally improve treatment of PD (an Edmond J. Safra Core Program for PD Research).
Therapeutics Development Initiative, an industry-exclusive support program for preclinical development of Parkinson’s disease therapies with potential to fundamentally alter disease course and/or improve treatment of symptoms above and beyond current standards of care.
The Pipeline Programs are complemented by the Foundation’s Critical Challenges in Parkinson’s Disease program, which provides funds for top research priorities. Critical Challenges in 2009/2010 include: speeding research on PD genetic targets, LRRK2 and alpha-synuclein; advancing research on neurotrophic factors; identifying biomarkers of PD; understanding patient’s unmet needs, like postural instability and gait disturbances; and, promoting collaborations with the Arizona Parkinson’s Disease Consortium.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
As the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors, and volunteers. In addition to funding $1.75 billion in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; creates a robust open-access data set and biosample library to speed scientific breakthroughs and treatment with its landmark clinical study, PPMI; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson’s disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events, and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. For more information, visit us at
