The Parkinson Canada Research Program focuses on funding early-stage investigators to help launch a career in Parkinson’s research; clinical fellowships to increase access to care by growing the number of qualified specialists; and new and novel ideas which otherwise may not get their start.
Guided by a thorough peer-review process led by our Scientific Advisory Council, the Research Program invests in innovative Canadian research led by established and promising investigators.
Since 1981, the Parkinson Canada National Research Program has invested more than $37 million in funding for:
Innovative Canadian research by established and promising investigators.
Discovery stage research where investigators test new theories and pursue promising new leads.
Researchers at the beginning of their careers in order to foster the next generation of Parkinson’s scientists.
Novel research to build greater capacity, promote creativity and engage more researchers.
More than 600 awards, fellowships, and grants that teach us more about diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease.
Financial support from individuals, corporations and foundations makes the Parkinson Canada Research Program possible. Funding for the Parkinson Canada Research Program is provided by Parkinson Canada, our regional partners and our research partners across the country.
Together, donors and researchers partner to fuel research innovation including:
Finding better treatments to learn more about the causes, progression, and complications of Parkinson’s. Improving quality of life for people with Parkinson’s and their families so they can live their lives to the fullest, despite the challenges of this disease. This area of research spans a variety of health disciplines such as nursing, occupational therapy, speech language pathology and social work.
Building capacity among the next generation of Canadian researchers. We also fund specialized training for doctors in the diagnosis and management of the disease and other movement disorders so there will be more Parkinson’s specialists to provide high quality care.
Contributing on an international scale to the collective understanding of this complex disease and to the global search for a cure. Continued investments in research will produce more life-changing discoveries and bring us closer to a world without Parkinson’s disease.
Researching Related Disorders, such as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and other Parkinson’s conditions, are also funded by the Parkinson Canada Research Program.
The evaluation of Applications submitted to Parkinson Canada will be completed by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and Trainee Award Committee through a peer review process. The volunteer Scientific Reviewers on theseCommitteesarecomposed of prominent neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropathologists and neuroscientists from across Canada. The peer review process is a cornerstone of Parkinson Canada’sresearch program and provides for the highest quality of objective adjudication.The SAC andTrainee Committeesare responsible for the evaluation of all applications submitted to Parkinson Canada in response to this Request for Applications, to rate each of the applications so that they may be ranked in order of priority for funding by Parkinson Canada. External reviewers will be solicited for additional expertise as needed. In addition to our Scientific Reviewers, Parkinson Canada is proud to involve the voices of People affected by Parkinson’s in the evaluation of all of our grants and awards. As a patient focused organization, we want to leverage the unique and valuable perspective of lived experience experts into our decisions on which projects will be funded. That way we can ensure that the identified needs and interests of people affected by Parkinson’s are reflected in our research program. This year, our lived experience reviewers will review the Project Impact and Patient Engagement Statements and provide a score that will account for 10% of the overall application score. Their score will be based on the application’s potential impact towards the lives of Canadians with Parkinson’s and the applicant’s efforts to engage the community of people affected by Parkinson’s into the design of their project and their knowledge dissemination efforts.
Scientific Advisory Council Members:
Dr. Louis-Eric Trudeau, Chair,Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal
Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell, Assistant Professor, Medicine/Neurology, University of British Columbia; Clinician Scientist, Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre and Djavad Mowafghian Centre for Brain Health
Dr. Fang Ba,Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta; Director, Parkinson and Movement Disorders Program
Dr. Robert Chen, Professor of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto; Senior Scientist, Krembil Research Institute; Senior Scientist
Dr. Connie Marras, Professor, Neurology, University of Toronto; Neurologist, University Health Network
Dr. Mario Masellis, Associate Scientist, Sunnybrook Health Institute; Assistant Professor, Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
Dr. Caroline Paquette, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University
Dr. Jean-François Trempe, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, McGill University
Dr. Joel Watts, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto; Principal Investigator, Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CRND)
Dr. Ziv Gan-Or, Associate Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University; Co-Director, Clinical Research Unit; Leader, Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Group
Trainee Award Committee Members:
Dr. Lorraine Kalia, Chair, Assistant Professor and Clinician-Scientist, Division of Neurology at University of Toronto; Neurologist, Movement Disorders Centre, Toronto Western Hospital
Dr. Camila Aquino, Neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology; Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
Dr. Aurelie de Rus Jaquet,Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval
Dr. Janelle Drouin-Ouellet, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal
Dr. Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens, Associate Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Dr. Alexandru Hanganu,Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Université de Montréal
Dr. Ji Hyun Ko, Associate Professor, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba
Dr. Stefan Lang,Clinical Assistant Professor and Functional Neurosurgeon, DjavadMowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia,
Dr. Luka Milosevic,Scientist, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network
Dr. Jay Penney,Associate Professor, Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island
Dr. Jean-Francois Poulin,Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University
Dr. Maxime Rousseaux,Associate Professor, Dept. of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa
Dr. Chenjie Xia,Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University
