For The Michael J. Fox Foundation, there is one clear measure of success: delivering patients better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson's disease. We've developed a targeted approach to research funding that helps us identify and prioritize the patient-relevant science that will allow us to reach our goal.

We tap leading specialists from around the globe to help us maintain a comprehensive view of the field and determine the research areas that hold the most promise for improving diagnosis and treatment of PD. In 2006 we convened over 350 top researchers from academic and industry labs all over the world for meetings to set strategy and future direction. Our meetings lead directly to funding initiatives, new collaborations and other action steps that will move the field forward faster.

The Foundation's scientific staff and expert advisors review proposals from researchers around the world. What are they looking for? The ideas that are most readily translatable into new treatments, the teams that can execute those ideas, thoughtful and realistic work plans, and outcomes that can take us closer to our goal: delivering better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for PD.

As soon as we identify the research proposals best aligned with our patient-relevant goals, we eliminate red tape to get funding to scientists as quickly as possible. We fund projects fast - in most cases, within two months.

But the Foundation's involvement doesn't stop there. Our scientific staff and advisors stay closely involved as research teams carry out their projects. We establish milestones and evaluate outcomes and progress, troubleshoot problems if they arise, and work with the team to set future directions. We believe our interactive approach is the best way to ensure accountability.

When we learn of promising findings (whether or not they resulted from research we funded), we work quickly to identify and partner with researchers equipped to further develop those discoveries in pursuit of the ultimate goal: improved treatments for Parkinson's patients.

Science is risky by nature, and not all of our research leads to positive outcomes. But even negative outcomes are useful for informing our next steps. Everything we learn helps us prioritize the next promising areas of focus, and the process starts again-one step closer to our goal.

Since we began in 2000, the Foundation has funded over $170 million in Parkinson's research, either directly or through partnerships. And every one of those dollars has helped us learn more about the disease, develop better treatments for patients and, ultimately, get us closer to ending Parkinson's.