Notes from AAN 2011 Part I: PDF News

This week the researchers and clinicians who treat Parkinson’s and a host of other neurological diseases are gathering at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Hawaii. Here they will share new information on the science and care of Parkinson’s. PDF’s Director of Research Programs, James Beck, Ph.D., is on the ground in Hawaii and has been sending us some updates on some of the happenings at this meeting.

Here are some PDF-related highlights he has sent along:



First, AAN accepted a submission from PDF as part of its competitive poster session, which Dr. Beck has shown in the photo above. The poster talks about PDF’s PAIR program, a network of 100 research advocates who have undergone a three-day training program to become knowledgeable in the clinical research process. PDF is particularly proud to have submitted this poster, which highlights the contributions of people with Parkinson’s to the development of new therapies. Clinical research advancement – and the inclusion of people with Parkinson’s within it – has long been a PDF priority that you can read about in our Winter newsletter. To access the full poster, download it here.



Second, seven neurology fellows (pictured above) - a few of whom are supported by PDF’s sponsored clinical fellowship program in Movement Disorders at Columbia University - are in attendance in Honolulu to keep up-to-date with Parkinson’s science. These fellows are training for careers in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. Stay tuned as we receive more news from the AAN meeting.