Our Mission

Finding the cause, finding more effective treatments and discovering the cure for Parkinson’s, the second most common neurological disorder, is the mission of The Michael Stern Parkinson’s Research Foundation.

The Michael Stern Parkinson’s Research Foundation was founded to support the pioneering research of The Stern Center for Parkinson’s Research at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Paul Greengard, who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his groundbreaking study on Parkinson’s dopamine pathways, directs The Stern Laboratory, and as the Vice-Chair of the Foundation, helps guide the direction of its grants.

From its founding in 2001, MSPRF has been a leading funder of science on Parkinson’s disease, sponsoring over $46 million in PD research. As MSPRF has grown, we have been able to expand our funding of cutting edge neurological research to four additional doctors at leading laboratories and academic institutions in the U.S.:

Dr. Ole Isacson at The Stern Center for Neuroregeneration Research at Harvard’s McLean Hospital; Dr. Michael Kaplitt, Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College; Dr. Kenneth Marek, President and Co-Founder of The Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders; and Dr. Angus Nairn, Professor of Pharmacology at the Yale School of Medicine. Chosen for the synergy of their research, each has made significant contributions to the understanding of the disease in all of its manifestations and possible treatment therapies.