Premier Parkinson’s researcher Eldad Melamed, MD, a member of The Michael J. Fox Foundation Scientific Advisory Board for more than 10 years, has died.

“Dr. Eldad Melamed was a leader in our field and our Foundation. His passion for Parkinson’s research has significantly expanded our understanding of this disease and how we may target its symptoms and progression,” said MJFF CEO Todd Sherer, PhD.

Dr. Melamed was professor of neurology at Tel Aviv University and director of the Felsentien Research Institute of the university's Laboratory of Neuroscience. He was chairman of the National Parkinson Foundation's Center for Research Excellence in Israel and served seven years as the president of the Israel Neurological Association.

His research contributions spanned the understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s and other movement disorders. Dr. Melamed’s more than 450 publications covered the absorption of levodopa, the potential for genetic insights and the social impact of Parkinson’s disease.

“I was very interested in Parkinson’s disease for many reasons. I was fascinated by dopamine and levodopa,” he told the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and then president Matthew Stern, MD, in a 2013 taped conversation.

Hear from Dr. Melamed on his path to Parkinson’s research and his hopes for the field’s future.