The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) announces 79 grants that total more than $100.4 million awarded in October and November 2024.  

From among the wide range of supported projects, we review two focused on finding solutions for freezing of gait and three examining the role of environmental toxins in Parkinson’s disease (PD), plus an effort to make clinical trial assessment tools more patient-centric. See full list of MJFF funded studies. 

Tailoring Deep Brain Stimulation to Improve Mobility in Parkinson’s Disease 

Improving walking and reducing falls rank among the highest priorities for people with Parkinson’s, especially as the disease advances. Mainstay dopamine therapy and deep brain stimulation (DBS) and focused ultrasound can help with some aspects of walking by reducing PD-related tremors, slowness and stiffness. But other walking-related symptoms don’t respond as well to these treatments, including freezing of gait. Freezing of gait is a common motor symptom of PD that causes feet to get stuck on the ground momentarily. It makes walking and turning difficult and increases the risk of falls and injury.  

MJFF is prioritizing work in this area with the goal of making therapeutic development more productive. With guidance from the Gait Advisors Leading Outcomes for Parkinson’s (GALOP) advisory committee, the Foundation recently funded two projects that leverage innovations in technology and advances in understanding the brain circuitry linked to freezing of gait:  

• A team led by Ioannis Isaias, MD, PhD, at University of Würzburg in Germany is developing an adaptive DBS system capable of detecting a freezing episode and interrupting or preventing it from happening. Funding from MJFF supports further development of this DBS system and clinical testing in people with PD.  

• Alfonso Fasano, MD, PhD, at University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, is leading an effort that combines deep brain stimulation with electrocorticography, a procedure that uses electrodes placed on the surface of the brain to measure changes in electrical activity. With funding from MJFF, the researchers aim to develop a new brain stimulation system that detects freezing of episodes based on measurements of brain activity and then treats them by stimulating the brain’s motor cortex.  

Reducing Environmental Risk Factors Linked to Parkinson’s Disease 

Research indicates that exposure to certain chemicals in our environment, such as pesticides, may contribute to the development of PD. MJFF has long advocated for the elimination of harmful toxins like trichloroethylene (TCE), which was officially banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on December 9, 2024. This advocacy work was validated by a groundbreaking study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, who found that military servicemembers exposed to TCE during their training at Camp Lejeune were 70-times more likely to develop PD.  

A lack of tools for evaluating the role of chemicals in PD development limits the availability of evidence that would strengthen regulatory measures and protect public health. Through the Foundation’s Accelerating Biological Understanding and Therapeutic Translation for PD-Biology program, MJFF has funded three efforts focused on learning more about the impact of toxic chemicals on PD:  

• A team led by Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, at University of California, San Francisco, plans to use the funding from MJFF to conduct an in-depth case study of the neurotoxic pesticide paraquat, including an analysis of evidence linking paraquat exposure to PD across diverse populations. They also aim to develop a framework for analyzing data on the neurological effects of organophosphates, another class of neurotoxic pesticide. These efforts are designed to strengthen evidence-based decision-making and regulatory practices at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

• Susan Searles Nielsen, PhD, at Washington University in Saint Louis, is leading an effort to identify which chemicals in the air are associated with developing PD. Called Multiple Air Pollutants in Parkinson’s Disease (MAP-PD), the project will analyze data on 172 outdoor air pollutants and integrate data from millions of Medicare recipients to predict which of these chemicals reach the brain and potentially contribute to PD development. 

• While it is known that certain pesticides can increase risk for developing Parkinson’s, the underlying mechanisms for this risk are largely unexplored. A team led by Kimberly Paul, PhD, at University of California, Los Angeles, plans to investigate the impact of pesticides on inflammation and immune system disturbances, as well as neurotoxicity, to learn more about how exposure could lead to PD. The team aims to conduct a population-based study of PD that will shed light on what makes people with PD more susceptible to the toxic action of pesticide exposures. 

Measuring Symptoms that Matter to People with Parkinson’s Disease  

For new drugs to gain regulatory approval, clinical trial sponsors must provide evidence that they work, including by delivering real-world value to patients. But clinical trial assessment tools are underdeveloped, despite their importance to the therapeutic development process, and few adequately reflect patients’ full lived experience of Parkinson’s. Sonya Eremenco, MA, executive director of the Patient-Reported Outcome Consortium at the Critical Path Institute, is leading a team in developing these important assessment tools based on existing datasets and focus groups. With funding from MJFF, the team is creating patient-centered questionnaires on non-motor symptoms, for use in early-stage PD clinical trials.  

Join our Mission 

The Michael J. Fox Foundation continues to fund advances in technology and medicine to drive toward effective therapies that can prevent, slow or stop disease progression.  

You can be a part of that mission.  

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is our landmark study on a mission to stop the disease. It is open to anyone over age 18 in the United States. Whether you have Parkinson’s or not, join the study that could change everything. 

Recently diagnosed with PD or live outside the U.S.? Connect with the PPMI team.