Michael J. Fox Foundation And New York Academy Of Sciences To Host First Major Parkinson's Drug Development Conference

Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Also Included In: Conferences
Article Date: 23 Aug 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and The New York Academy of Sciences will co-host the inaugural PD Therapeutics Conference on Thursday, October 25, in New York City. This meeting is the first and only major scientific symposium exclusively focused on the development of innovative drugs to target Parkinson's disease.

The conference will bring together academic and industry scientists to assess and discuss how novel scientific advances can be applied to accelerate the development of innovative drug discovery approaches to Parkinson's disease. Select MJFF-funded investigators will present research on topics including novel neuroprotective agents, innovative mechanisms to address disease symptoms and improvements in relevant animal models, and biomarker discovery/development.

"The PD Therapeutics Conference will feature the latest updates on ongoing research, as well as highlight new studies and concepts," said conference chair C. Warren Olanow, MD, the Henry P. and Georgette Goldschmidt Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology and Professor of Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, as well as Chief of the Neurology Service at the Mount Sinai Hospital. "Our primary objectives for the conference are twofold: to discuss scientific progress on drug discovery initiatives aimed at better treating Parkinson's disease, and to provide a new networking opportunity for scientists to share information and resources."

The conference, targeted toward a multidisciplinary network of academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry researchers, is expected to attract over 100 attendees from around the globe. Due to limited space, registration priority will be given to scientists whose research priority is PD or an allied neuroscience discipline.

The meeting will be held at The New York Academy of Sciences Conference Center, 7 World Trade Center (250 Greenwich St. at Barclay St.), 40th Floor. To register, or for a full conference agenda, visit the NYAS Web site at http://www.nyas.org/pdconf.

Leadership funding for the PD Therapeutics Conference has been provided by Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN).

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Founded in 2000, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure for Parkinson's disease within this decade through an aggressively funded research agenda. The Foundation has funded more than $95 million in research to date, either directly or through partnerships. For more information please visit the Foundation's Web site at http://www.michaeljfox.org.

About The New York Academy of Sciences

Founded in 1817, the New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. It is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, scientific and educational organization. The Academy's goal is to advance the understanding of science, technology, and medicine, and to stimulate new ways to think about how scientific research is applied in society and the world. The Academy is widely recognized as one of the world's foremost organizers of scientific conferences and symposia, and publisher and communicator of scientific information.

Members have included Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, Margaret Mead and Albert Einstein. The Academy has become a uniquely neutral nexus between industry, academia, and government, unlike many not-for-profit professional organizations. Today, the Academy's powerful programs in science, technology, medicine, and education have attracted over 25,000 members in 150 countries. This elite cadre includes - on its President's Council alone - 20 Nobel Prize Laureates and a score of industry, financial and government agency leaders from throughout the world.

http://www.michaeljfox.org