NEWYORK, NY — Katie Hood, chief executive officer of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, is one of four new members appointed to the NINDS Council, the major advisory panel to The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). She will serve through July 2012.
NINDS, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the nation’s primary supporter of basic, translational and clinical research on the brain and nervous system. Its 18-member Council, composed of physicians, scientists and representatives of the public, meets three times a year to review applications from scientists seeking government grants to support biomedical research on disorders of the brain and nervous system. Members also advise the Institute on research program planning and priorities.
Ms. Hood, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, is one of the Council’s four members whose formal training is in business, rather than bench or clinical research. As such, she will bring to the Council the acumen and experience that have been critical in her ability to shape MJFF’s strategy of intervening aggressively to close gaps that slow potential treatments on their path from the laboratory to Parkinson’s patients.
“I am privileged to have been chosen to serve every American affected by neurological disease,” said Ms. Hood. “I very much look forward to working with my fellow Council members to drive research with potential to speed tangible therapeutic advances that can make a difference in countless millions of lives.”
Ms. Hood joined the Foundation in September 2002 and served as Vice President of Research Programs and Deputy CEO before being named chief executive officer in December 2007. Today MJFF stands as the single largest Parkinson’s research funder in the world outside the U.S. government, having funded $126 million in research to date.
Prior to joining the Foundation, she was employed as a consultant at Bain & Company in New York City, doing work in the consumer products, financial services, and nonprofit sectors. She has also served as an analyst. She holds a BA in Public Policy Studies from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
“Anyone who works with Katie comes away impressed by her passion, smarts and drive,” said Michael J. Fox, founder of MJFF. “We’re thrilled for her — but more importantly, for the patients waiting urgently for new treatments — that she’s been named to the Council.”
More information about the NINDS and its mission is available at www.ninds.nih.gov.