Last week Todd Sherer, PhD, CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), was a guest on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Diane Rehm Show” to talk about MJFF and the state of Parkinson’s disease research.
He joined Story Landis, PhD, director of the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and Zoltan Mari, MD, director of the National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. The show was moderated by host Diane Rehm, whose husband has Parkinson’s disease, and featured questions from callers and social media users.
Asked about his perspective on the state of research, Todd said, “I'm very optimistic. I think we're making significant progress. I think the other thing that we're seeing, too, is that people with Parkinson's and their families are getting more involved in research, as research partners and collaborators. And that engagement is also going to help us accelerate progress.”
Zoltan—who is an investigator of the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative, sponsored by MJFF—answered questions that didn’t make it on air for the radio show’s Web site.