In our latest Ask the PhD video, we talk to staff scientist Jamie Eberling, PhD, about alpha-synuclein imaging and why The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is devoting substantial resources to this area of Parkinson’s research.

Medical imaging — like a PET scan or MRI — allows doctors and scientists to visualize things happening inside our bodies. MJFF is supporting researchers to find a way to image alpha-synuclein, a protein that builds up in the brains of people with Parkinson’s.

To accelerate this work, we created the Alpha-Synuclein Imaging Prize in 2016. Earlier this year, we announced the three winners of the Ken Griffin Alpha-Synuclein Imaging Competition, a $10 million program to spur even more development for this game-changing tool. And we are currently accepting applications for tau and alpha-synuclein PET tracer development through a funding partnership with the Rainwater Charitable Foundation.

Dr. Eberling explains: “The more that work on it, the better chance we have that somebody will succeed.”