Awarded grants
The Finnish Parkinson Foundation awarded its first grants in 1997. During its operation, the foundation has awarded 403 grants totaling more than 2,100,000 euros. The foundation’s grant has supported several dissertations, there will be 91 graduates by 2024.
In 2023, in honor of the Foundation’s anniversary, there was a Special Grant of 50,000 euros allocated for three years. The special grant was awarded to docent Filip Scheperjans, who together with his neurology team translates and validates the MDS-UPDRS tool, which is necessary for clinical research. It is a testing and measurement concept that can be used to assess the clinical status of a patient with Parkinson’s disease, and it is based on the Movement Disorder Society’s Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale.
In 2024, the foundation will continue awarding special grants.
Special Grant 2024 of €50,000 for Preclinical Research
A special grant was exceptionally awarded to two research teams. Professor Mikko Airavaara of Pharmacology and Drug Development leads a project focusing on preclinical studies, particularly the impact of a novel proton pump on lysosomal function and enhancing the clearance of ⍺-synuclein aggregates. The research will be conducted at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Pharmacy.
Special Grant 2024 of €50,000 for Clinical Research
Professor Valtteri Kaasinen, specializing in Neurology, is heading a clinical project aimed at improving the accuracy of Parkinson’s disease diagnostics through methods such as olfactory analysis and biochemical markers. The research will be carried out at Turku University Hospital.