$3 million grant to help Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center to continue cutting-edge research

Aug 28 2009

The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center (PI) is very excited to announce the receipt of a $3 million challenge grant from the Brin Foundation as the lead gift in the PI's $15 million Capital Campaign - "A Campaign to Conquer Parkinson's Disease." The "Challenge" feature of the grant invites individuals, foundations and corporations to partner with the Brin Foundation in support of Parkinson's research.

"This capital campaign will allow us not only to continue cutting-edge research, but also to expand it dramatically, while at the same time ensuring that we will continue to deliver compassionate care of the highest quality to our patients. We are thrilled to be in a new expanded facility that makes all of this possible," said J. William Langston, MD, founder and CEO of The Parkinson's Institute.

"The generosity of the Brin Foundation is a cornerstone of our long range fundraising initiative, which provides both stability and critical growth potential for PI," says Jonathan Friedman, Director of Development at PI.

Irwin Helford, Board Chairman of PI and former CEO of Viking Office Products and retired Vice Chairman of Office Depot, expressed his delight at learning of the gift. "It's heartening to see a leader of the new generation of successful entrepreneurs is taking up the banner of promising research philanthropy. Anne and Sergey have set the bar at a high level. I hope that other leaders, who care about ending terrible disease, will follow their example."

A portion of the campaign is devoted to the capital improvements in the organization's new, expanded 60,000 square foot facilities - for advanced research labs and state-of-the-art equipment. Additional funds are being used to engage new talented scientific research staff. This will enable the Institute to greatly accelerate its efforts to find the causes and cure for Parkinson's disease, expand effective, highest quality patient care and to significantly expand clinical trials for new drugs to better treat patients with Parkinson's disease.

Approximately 1 million Americans are affected with Parkinson's disease (PD), a common neurodegenerative disease that causes a high degree of disability and adds financial burden for our health care system. It is estimated that the number of PD cases will double by the year 2030. There is a critical need for new, novel therapies that will prevent or even reverse progression of Parkinson's disease. This is a major priority research focus at the Institute.