Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects people of all ethnicities, ancestries, and geographies, yet for many years, research efforts have not reflected that heterogeneity. Clinical trials have not included people from the varied backgrounds that we see within the PD population and most research topics have not factored in the diversity of the PD community. This has led to results that are not applicable to everyone with PD. The PD research community is well aware of this dilemma, and APDA decided to do something about it.

In 2019, APDA held the first-of-its-kind Diversity in Parkinson’s Disease Research Conference. The conference led to the establishment of the APDA Diversity in Parkinson’s Disease Research Grant - a one-year grant to study the health inequities and/or differences among under-studied PD communities, across the spectrum of ethnicity, ancestry, geography, socioeconomic conditions, and gender. Since then, we have awarded six of these unique grants, and now, our vanguard - the first recipients of this grant – are ready to present their research results. We are excited to share their findings with you.

APDA is currently open for LOI submissions for 2024-25 grant year: https://www.apdaparkinson.org/article/apda-diversity-in-research-grant/

All grant opportunities: https://www.apdaparkinson.org/research/research-opportunities