PITTSBURGH, Aug. 28 The University of Pittsburgh has been named an American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) Advanced Center for Parkinson's Disease Research, a designation that places it in an elite group with eight other leading institutions in the United States.
J. Timothy Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D., UPMC Endowed Professor of Neurology and chief, movement disorders division, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will direct all aspects of the center and chair the center's executive committee. Dr. Greenamyre, an internationally renowned Parkinson's disease researcher, was recruited to Pitt's faculty in 2004 to direct the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (PIND).
"Being selected as an APDA Advanced Center for Parkinson's Disease research builds on a long history of excellence in Parkinson's disease research at the University of Pittsburgh and will allow us to capitalize on our growing strengths in the basic and clinical aspects of Parkinson's disease research," said Dr. Greenamyre, who also is chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Parkinson Study Group and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. "We hope that our research will make a difference in the lives of people with Parkinson's disease and for their families as well."
The other APDA centers are located at Boston University School of Medicine; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta; UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles; the University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville; UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J.; and Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis.
As an APDA Advanced Research Center, the university will receive $90,000 per year for five years, for a total of $450,000.
The grant will support both clinical and basic science research, with studies likely to focus on developing methods for early Park
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Contact: Lisa Rossi
RossiL@upmc.edu
412-647-3555
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
28-Aug-2006