Established in 2021, the Bachmann-Strauss Fellowship in Dystonia Research will support a next generation of dystonia researchers to improve understanding and treatment of this movement disorder.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) previously recognized contributions to this field with the Bachmann-Strauss Prize for Excellence in Dystonia Research. Read more on the history of that award below.
About the Fellowship
MJFF, with partners Bonnie and Tom Strauss, launched the Bachmann-Strauss Fellowship in Dystonia Research to grow the base of scientists aiming to understand the causes of and contributors to dystonia. Such insights could help accelerate the development of new approaches to treat and even prevent this movement disorder.
Selected laboratories will host a two-year post-doctoral fellowship focused on dystonia as a movement disorder and/or as a symptom of Parkinson’s disease. These laboratories must offer a depth of dystonia research experience and cutting-edge projects that apply the latest learnings on the intricacies of brain circuits and systems to this field.
Each grantee will receive a grant over two years to support a research fellow — someone in fellowship or a prospective hire.
Bachmann-Strauss Fellows
2022: Els Kuiper, MSc; Yale University, Connecticut
Fellowship Mentor: Christian Schlieker, PhD
2021: Lara Mariah Lange, MD; University of Lübeck, Germany
Fellowship Mentor: Christine Klein, MD
About the Bachmann-Strauss Prize for Excellence in Dystonia Research
In September 2014, The Michael J. Fox Foundation announced a collaborative research alliance with the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation and a prize awarding dystonia research. From 2015 to 2020, the Bachmann-Strauss Prize for Excellence in Dystonia Research was awarded annually to a researcher who made profound contributions to dystonia research. The award was accompanied by an unrestricted research grant to support further research in the awardee's laboratory.
Bachmann-Strauss Prize Awardees
2020: William Dauer, MD; Director of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
2019: Antonio Pisani, MD, PhD; Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy; and David G. Standaert, MD, PhD; John N. Whitaker Professor and Chairman of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2018: David Eidelberg, MD; Professor and Head, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research's Center for Neurosciences; Professor of Molecular Medicine and Neurology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
2017: Andres Lozano, MD, PhD; Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital; Founding Member, The Michael J. Fox Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board
2016: Susan Bressman, MD; Chair of the Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai Beth Israel; and Laurie Ozelius, PhD; Associate Neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
2015: Xandra O. Breakefield, PhD; Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Geneticist, Massachusetts General Hospital
Learn more about the legacy of the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson's Foundation
