Thanks to longtime Foundation friends Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of personal genetics company 23andMe, MJFF has a matching gift in place through December 2012. The Brin Wojcicki Challenge will match all new and increased gifts to MJFF, as well as gifts from donors who have not given since 2009 or earlier. Read more about the Challenge in the below article from the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. To read other stories from the fall issue, click here.

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The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) has never shrunk from daunting challenges. Our stock in trade is developing creative strategies to solve tough problems — such as how to de-risk drug development, how to facilitate collaboration among researchers and how to increase enrollment in clinical trials — in our quest to speed treatment breakthroughs for Parkinson’s disease. This year, MJFF accepted a new challenge: Raising $50 million by December 31, 2012 in order to earn another $50 million.

The inspiration comes from longtime Foundation friends Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of personal genetics company 23andMe. Sergey carries LRRK2, the genetic mutation that has been linked to a significant increase in risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD). His mother, Eugenia, who has Parkinson’s and sits on the Foundation’s Patient Council, also is a carrier. Since 2004, Sergey and Anne have given generously to MJFF’s research programs, especially to those targeting LRKK2. Now, they have launched the Brin Wojcicki Challenge with a promise to match contributions from other MJFF friends, up to a total of $50 million, this year and next.

But MJFF must raise the $50 million to earn the match.

“This Challenge has the power to expand our capacity to speed transformative breakthroughs and a cure,” said Todd Sherer, PhD, CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. “But to reach this goal, we need your help.”

The Brin Wojcicki Challenge is designed to increase the Foundation’s capacity to do whatever it takes to speed a cure. The Challenge will match, dollar for dollar, all new and increased gifts to MJFF, as well as all gifts from donors who have not given since 2009 or earlier.

With results already in hand and more potentially within reach, the Challenge comes at an opportune time. Due in no small part to MJFF’s investments of over $250 million since 2000, there is measurable progress across the board in Parkinson’s drug development. More projects are advancing toward clinical trials, but they come at a steep price. At every stage of development, promising new treatments must continue to be identified, vetted and pushed closer to patients’ hands. All of this requires substantial capital.

“Anne and Sergey’s generosity already has resulted in the Foundation’s making seminal contributions to the LRRK2 field and fostering an unprecedented level of collaboration among all players,” concluded Todd Sherer. “We hope this Challenge will inspire others to give generously so we can deploy similar strategies to speed progress in other high-priority areas of PD research.”

For more information about the Challenge, and to make a gift, visit www.michaeljfox.org/challenge.

Meet Claudia and Carlos Revilla, MJFF supporters who were featured in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. They took advantage of the Brin Wojcicki Challenge to maximize their giving. Read more below or click here to see the rest of the fall issue.

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After a long path to her diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson’s disease at age 46, Claudia Revilla is eager to do “whatever needs to be done” to help others whose lives have been touched by Parkinson’s disease. With two young sons at home — Carlos, 12, and David, 10 — she has many plans for the future. Helping her to fulfill these plans, and to maintain her positive outlook, is her husband, Carlos, whom she calls her greatest coach. “We know what I have now,” she said. “I accept it and do as much as I can. If Michael had the courage to speak up about his PD, then why can’t I?”

Inspired by the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s (MJFF) commitment to maximize donors’ dollars to speed development of a cure, the Revillas made a $500 contribution in December 2010, not long after her diagnosis. She learned more about MJFF and the latest news in PD research at a June Research Roundtable in Chicago, to which Claudia and Carlos traveled from their home in Peoria, Illinois. The passion and expertise of the scientists working with MJFF impressed them both. Claudia, who is in “a race against time,” wanted to do more.

At the Roundtable, the Revillas also heard about the Brin Wojcicki Challenge, which matches new and increased giving (as well as gifts from donors who have not given since 2009 or earlier) dollar for dollar. They quickly decided to make another gift that would fully leverage the opportunity to earn doubled dollars for the Foundation’s research programs. That meant stretching their contribution to $1,500, earning MJFF $1,000 in Brin Wojcicki funds and making the Revillas’ gift of $1,500 worth $2,500 to the Foundation’s efforts to speed a cure.

Claudia explained, “Your money is multiplying. The resources that MJFF has are multiplying. I really hope that we can raise the $50 million to meet the Challenge! No effort — or contribution — is too small.

“There’s so much opportunity for each of us to make a difference,” she concluded. “Together, our small efforts add up to a large result.”

Leon Levine and his wife, Sandra, donated $100,000 to The Michael J. Fox Foundation in June 2011. Thanks to the Brin Wojcicki Challenge, their contribution was doubled. Read more about the inspiration behind their gift in an article in the fall issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. Click here to see the entire issue.

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In 1959, Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar store, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The goal was to offer his customers a variety of high-quality, good value merchandise for less than $2. His concept for a self-serve, cash-and-carry neighborhood discount store proved so successful that upon Leon’s retirement as Chairman and CEO in 2003, the chain had grown to over 4,600 stores with $1.1 billion in revenue.

Seeking to give back to the community that enabled his success, in 1980 he founded the Leon Levine Foundation, dedicated to education, healthcare, Jewish religion and human services. The Foundation has focused much of its giving locally and has left an indelible mark on Charlotte. The children’s hospital, museum of the New South, Jewish Community Center and campus at Central Piedmont Community College all bear the name “Levine” in honor of the Foundation’s generosity.

But now the community touched by the Levine Foundation’s generosity has grown far beyond Charlotte to include five million more people — those with Parkinson’s worldwide.

After Leon’s wife, Sandra, lost both her mother and brother to Parkinson’s disease, she began exploring organizations making progress in Parkinson’s research and came across MJFF. In June, the Leon Levine Foundation made a contribution of $100,000 to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). Through the Brin Wojcicki Challenge, the Levine Foundation’s gift will be doubled.

Not only was this the Foundation’s first gift to MJFF, but its first gift designated specifically for Parkinson’s research. The shift was driven by a belief that MJFF’s strategic approach would get us closer to a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Said Larry Polsky, program officer at the Levine Foundation: “MJFF has built the scientific staff with the expertise to constantly evaluate the research landscape and where investments should be made. They are the leader in knowing — and driving forward — the most promising research.”

One of the defining attributes of Family Dollar stores and Leon’s career has been a commitment to good value and high quality. Leon explained: “We believe that in making a contribution to MJFF, we are pointing our funds in the best direction, to leverage them for the greatest impact. With the Challenge, the opportunity to help speed a cure to Parkinson’s, and to do so faster, was simply too good to miss.”

In the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure, Nate Herpich, MJFF’s associate director of research communications, provided updates on some of our funding, including: drug repositioning, a potential PD vaccine and PPMI. Check out the newsbriefs below or click here to read the rest of the fall issue.

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RESEARCH NEWSBRIEFS

Reducing the Drug Development Timeline: Repositioning RFA

Over the past year, The Michael J. Fox Foundation has ramped up its interest in repositioning. This is the process of testing a drug that is already FDA-approved or that has been proven safe in a clinical trial for a certain indication, to determine whether the drug might be efficacious in the treatment of another therapeutic area, like Parkinson’s disease (PD). “Repositioning can drastically reduce the timeline for getting a drug into clinical testing for PD, making an impact on patients’ lives that much sooner,” says Kuldip Dave, PhD, associate director of research programs at MJFF.

While MJFF has supported repositioning projects before, its first-ever repositioning specific Request for Applications (RFA) launched in fall 2010. MJFF announced the results of this RFA in July: six researchers with awards totaling $2.4 million. Three additional awards were granted in August through other programs, bringing the total funding for repositioning to $3.4 million. Several of the research teams are working with drugs that could offer protection to the brain cells that die in Parkinson’s disease, including a tuberculosis vaccine and the antidepressant duloxetine (marketed as Cymbalta). Others are testing symptomatic therapies, including a compound used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

A Potential Vaccine to Slow Parkinson’s Disease Progression

This summer, MJFF awarded funding for a first-of-its-kind therapeutic approach to Parkinson’s disease: a vaccine targeting alpha-synuclein, a protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease. The vaccine aims to slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s, something no current treatment can do.

Vienna, Austria-based company AFFiRiS AG will conduct a clinical study of the safety and efficacy of its vaccine candidate PD01. The hope is that this agent will simulate the production of antibodies that bind to alpha-synuclein, clearing it from the brain and slowing disease progression. Alpha-synuclein is a high-priority target for MJFF, largely because there is compelling evidence that it may play a role in both genetic and idiopathic cases of PD. It is also the major component in the Lewy bodies that are the pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s.

The trial, led by AFFiRiS chief medical officer Achim Schneeberger, MD, will engage 24 subjects with mild Parkinson’s disease over two years at a single clinical site in Austria. “Cautious optimism is called for,” says Jamie Eberling, PhD, MJFF’s associate director of research programs, “but it’s important to bear in mind that PD01 is still in the early stages of clinical testing.”

On the Path to Finding Biomarkers: PPMI Update

Since MJFF launched the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) more than a year ago, the project has grown in scope, and it continues to expand its presence across the United States and Europe. Nine industry funders, including leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, have partnered with MJFF to support this work, and researchers and clinicians across the world have begun to analyze the data and biological samples that could unlock clues to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. In a move to make PPMI a truly global study, in August MJFF announced a collaboration with the Shake It Up Foundation Australia to bring PPMI down under, increasing our chances to quickly identify universally relevant biomarkers.

Of 21 planned clinical sites in the United States and Europe, 19 are now active, with two more in the EU set to begin enrolling participants soon. 179 individuals are actively enrolled at PPMI sites, including 101 newly diagnosed PD participants, and 78 control participants who do not have PD. Another 45 volunteers are pending enrollment. Samples and data collected in PPMI are available to the scientific community at large in real time for promising biomarker validation studies. Scientists using the initiative’s resources agree to report back to PPMI with findings and data, enabling future researchers to build on their work to help speed promising PD biomarker validation efforts worldwide.

You, too, can help with these efforts. PPMI continues to recruit and must find at least 400 people who are newly diagnosed with PD, and 200 controls. If you or someone you know might want to participate in PPMI, visit www.michaeljfox.org/PPMI to learn more about our study and find the nearest site.

Erika Forte is a control participant in PPMI, the Foundation’s landmark clinical study to identify biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease progression. She enrolled in the study for her husband, Michael, who was diagnosed with PD in 1997. We featured her in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. Read the profile below or click here to check out the entire fall issue.

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Erika Forte, one of the first control participants to sign up for PPMI, was featured in the fall 2010 issue of Accelerating the Cure. One year later, Nate Herpich checks back in with Erika to see how things are going.

Erika’s husband, Michael, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in 1997 at age 43. In the years following his diagnosis, the Fortes were often told that Parkinson’s research was on the cusp of a breakthrough, in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Then, in 2006, Michael underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS), which has made a significant difference for him. Erika decided that she wanted to help to further research so that other people with Parkinson’s will have even better options for treatment.

“We’ve developed a close relationship with the doctors at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (IND) in New Haven,” Erika says. “The doctors there are also Michael’s doctors, and they have become special people to us.”

Many of the tests she takes for PPMI are familiar — she’s seen Michael undergo the same ones during his visits to IND. She finds the smell test fascinating, and admits that, at 57, the memory test is the most stressful for her.

The tight-knit community at IND has helped to make her participation in PPMI a positive one. The staff there, she said, has been very accommodating, working around her busy schedule as a principal at a school for students with serious social, emotional and behavioral issues. Next month, the group of PPMI participants at IND is getting together for Sunday brunch to share their experiences in the study.

Michael and Erika are doing well. This past summer, the couple celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary. Michael has adjusted to life after retirement, and is chairman of the board of directors at IND. For the Fortes, it’s about finding the right balance in their lives. “We’ve figured out the best way for us to do things,” said Erika. “We’re able to take a step back and really assess what’s important, instead of just going, going, going all the time.”

Recently, the IND staff gave Erika a signed copy of Michael J. Fox’s second book, Always Looking Up, to thank her for volunteering for PPMI. Fox’s attitude, she said, embodies her own, and that of her husband.

“Sure, there are struggles. There are things we can do, and things we can’t. But at the end of the day, we are luckier than most.”

Meet Team Fox member Edna Woods, who was featured in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. She started the annual New England Parkinson’s Ride for her son Chris, an avid cyclist who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2006. Read the profile below or click here to check out the entire issue.

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Edna Woods is, in a word, a matriarch. A mother of seven, grandmother of 18 and great grandmother of six from Merrimack, New Hampshire, Edna has always put her family first. So when her youngest son, Chris, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in 2006 at the age of 41, she knew she had to do something. Enlisting Chris’ love of cycling in the fight against Parkinson’s, in 2008 Edna joined Team Fox and created the New England Parkinson’s Ride in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Chris is an avid cyclist who had participated in a 150-mile diabetes bike ride and a 200-mile MS ride. After his diagnosis, he took part in a 100-mile Parkinson’s ride in Boston, which unfortunately folded a year later. When a search for another PD ride yielded no results, Chris and Edna decided to start their own. And the New England Parkinson’s Ride was born.

The ride starts and ends in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and caters to riders of all levels. Riders are asked to raise $100 to participate and can choose from the 10-mile, 30-mile, 50-mile or 100-mile routes.

Edna has watched the ride grow over the years. She’s astounded by the outpouring of support — which has made her event one of Team Fox’s most successful and most popular annual fundraisers. “The first year, we had 35 riders and raised $27,000 for Team Fox,” said Edna. “The next year, we had 105 riders and raised $56,000. Last year, we had 205 riders and raised $106,000. This year will be our fourth. We are expecting 300 riders and hope to raise $120,000.”

Many participants have Parkinson’s, including Chris, who still opts for the 100-mile loop. People travel from as far as California, others from upstate New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. According to Edna, “they come from all over because everyone seems to know someone with Parkinson’s.”

In addition to the riders, more than 40 volunteers staff the rest stops and registration and set up each of the four routes. A raffle in July raises money to cover most of the ride’s expenses; local supermarkets donate food, water and Gatorade for the day of the ride; and a nearby hotel offers discounted rates for all bikers. “Everybody works together. It never ceases to amaze me,” she said.

Planning and managing the ride is a full-time job, but one that Edna loves. “I originally got into this for Chris, but when you get to know other people with Parkinson’s and those who love them, it’s just so much more,” she explained. “It’s become my passion. And I’m not doing this for me. It’s about finding a cure — now.”

This year’s ride is on September 10, 2011. For more information, visit www.neparkinsonsride.com.

Team Fox member Sam Fox challenged himself to run the Pacific Crest Trail to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease research. He chose to honor his mother, Lucy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2000. We featured him in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. Read his profile below or click here for the rest of our fall issue.

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2,650 miles in two months. 44 miles a day. 16,000 vertical feet gained or lost each day.

There are countless ways to promote Parkinson’s disease (PD) awareness and raise money for PD research. 24-year-old Sam Fox found one of the most challenging Team Fox has ever seen: running the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail in two months to honor his mother, Lucy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2000. Sam aims to break the current speed record of 65 days and, along the way, to raise $250,000 for The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Thanks to another challenge — the Brin Wojcicki Challenge — all funds Sam raises will be matched, dollar-for-dollar.

Sam, a Rhode Island native, earned 15 varsity letters in four sports during high school, and the distinction of Rhode Island High School State Champion for the high jump. He continued his education and athletics at Yale University, studying history and high-jumping for the track and field team.

A true outdoorsman and graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School in glacier mountaineering, Sam grew up exploring the outdoors with his family. He readily admits that his hobbies “tend toward what most people would call insane, or at least extreme.”

And extreme Sam’s journey will be: 100 marathons’ worth of rugged terrain and varying altitudes from Canada’s border with Washington to California’s border with Mexico. But his remarkable endurance and love of the outdoors — and his mother — prove that he is indeed capable of accomplishing his 60-day goal.

Prior to his August 25 kickoff, Sam trained on parts of the trail near Berkeley, California, and has taken long runs in the Grand Canyon. In fact, the notion that he could actually do something like this came about during one such hike along the River Canyon last year.

While most of his college friends went straight to Wall Street after graduation, Sam “prefers to be in charge of what I’m doing.” For the last year, Sam has focused on making a difference and putting his body to the ultimate test — all for his mother. “My mom was always outside doing something. If she wanted a greenhouse in the backyard, she’d build it. She still spends time in her garden, grows hops and makes her own beer, but she can’t do any of it as easily or as much as she did before Parkinson’s.”

No matter the outcome, Sam says he will be happy to just finish it alive. “Having a finish line is the most tangible form of success, as I can actually put my finger on what I want to accomplish. I recognize all that my mom has done and the challenges she now faces every day. Sometimes it’s hard to express all of my love and appreciation for my mom, but this is a big way to say it.”

Sam embarked on his journey on August 25 and hopes to finish on October 24. To track his progress along the Pacific Crest Trail and to show your support, visit www.runwhileyoucan.org.

We introduced Fox Trial Finder in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. Check out the article below or click here to read the rest of the issue.

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In July, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) launched the beta version of Fox Trial Finder (www.foxtrialfinder.org), a smart and simple Web-based solution to connect willing volunteers with the Parkinson’s disease (PD) clinical trials that urgently need them. The Foundation is optimistic that Fox Trial Finder will bring more volunteers into PD trials across the United States — and eventually, internationally.

“Today, America is waiting expectantly for a new generation of scientific breakthroughs — in cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and, of course, Parkinson’s disease,” Michael J. Fox wrote in an Op-Ed for the San Francisco Chronicle last spring. “Yet we’ve lost sight of a critical element of any success — our own active engagement in the process.”

An urgent need

Today, an estimated one million people in the United States and more than five million worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease. PD affects one in 100 people over the age of 60, though some people are diagnosed as young as their 30s or 40s. In the United States, 60,000 new PD cases will emerge this year alone. And as the U.S. population ages, this number will only grow. According to a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner and former Secretary of State George Shultz, three out of five Americans will suffer from a nervous-system disease such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.

Clearly, the need for high-impact investment in research has never been more urgent. But while financial investment is critical, dollars alone will not take us across the finish line in pursuit of therapeutic breakthroughs. The active involvement of Parkinson’s patients and their loved ones in clinical research is vital to finding the cure. Yet today, as many as 80 percent of clinical trials face recruitment challenges, which significantly increase costs and delay progress toward breakthroughs. Fox Trial Finder addresses these challenges head-on.

“By streamlining the flow of participants into trials, Fox Trial Finder will play a role in reducing the length and cost of Parkinson’s clinical trials, helping bring new treatments to patients faster,” said Todd Sherer, PhD, CEO of MJFF.

How it works

Using state-of-the-art technology, Fox Trial Finder compares each volunteer’s specific information — such as location and medical history — with trial eligibility requirements. The site then provides a list of nearby studies that are the volunteer’s best potential matches. The service is available to people who have Parkinson’s, but also to those who do not, because trials need both patients and controls. In addition to personalized matching, Fox Trial Finder also streamlines communication between volunteers and trial teams.

Fox Trial Finder takes volunteers’ privacy very seriously. All information is protected by industry-standard security protocols. Volunteers’ names and contact information remain hidden unless the volunteers choose to share this information with a trial team.

Additional Fox Trial Finder features

• A secure messaging system allows you to connect directly with trial coordinators (or vice versa) without revealing your identity.
• Contact information for trial coordinators is posted within the online community if you prefer to contact a clinical site directly.
• You can save a personal profile in order to receive ongoing email alerts about new matches and messages from trial teams. Even if you don’t have a match on day one, Fox Trial Finder will email you with an alert when a new trial begins recruiting individuals with your specific characteristics. New trials start recruiting each month.

Both interventional trials testing new therapeutic approaches and observational studies that help scientists learn more about the nature of Parkinson’s are included in Fox Trial Finder, and study sites can be found across the country.

An enthusiastic response — but we still need your help

The early response to Fox Trial Finder has been encouraging. So far more than 625 people have signed up. We need to register thousands more to create a pool of volunteers whom trial teams can call on to speed studies toward the breakthroughs we urgently need. The power of Fox Trial Finder grows with each person who registers. Create your own profile today, and share Fox Trial Finder with friends and family who might have an interest in participating in clinical trials for PD.

“I know firsthand how motivated the Parkinson’s patient community is to play a proactive role in finding the cure for PD,” said Israel Robledo, a member of the PD community from Midland, Texas. “Fox Trial Finder is designed to help translate that motivation into action. The site is easy to use, and the cutting-edge technology it employs to specifically match individuals to clinical trials is what we need to get results.”

“The most important step is for all of us to recognize that that we can be part of the answer — and to act on that knowledge by donating, volunteering or participating in a trial,” Michael wrote in the Chronicle last May. “Because involving everyone is the fastest way to bring our wait for a cure to an end.”

Be part of the answer. Create your profile today at www.foxtrialfinder.org!

RaceTrac convenience stores in the southeastern United States partnered with MJFF during National Parkinson’s Awareness Month to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease research. More than $130,000 was raised, all of which was doubled by the Brin Wojcicki Challenge. We wrote about the partnership in the fall 2011 issue of our newsletter, Accelerating the Cure. Read below or click here to see the entire fall issue.

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Visitors to RaceTrac convenience stores often see a lot of red, the company’s flagship color, at the gas pump and inside the store. But last April, they were also seeing a lot of orange.

To do its part for National Parkinson’s Awareness Month, RaceTrac partnered with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). Through the “Coffee for a Cause” campaign, all proceeds from the sales of coffee and specially marked chocolate bars at each of RaceTrac’s more than 300 stores were donated to MJFF. Those cups of coffee added up: RaceTrac raised more than $130,000 for Parkinson’s research. Thanks to the Brin Wojcicki Challenge, the funds will be doubled with a dollar-for-dollar match.

During the campaign, RaceTrac stores across Georgia, Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi were decked out with MJFF signage to educate guests about Parkinson’s disease (PD) — from fact sheets at gas pumps to coffee sleeves and counter mats.

“Parkinson’s touches millions of American families, including my own family and those of our customers and our colleagues,” said Allison Moran, RaceTrac senior vice president.

Allison speaks from personal experience. She’s the daughter of RaceTrac’s CEO, Carl Bolch, Jr., who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s several years ago. His father, Carl Sr., who founded the family business in 1934, also had the disease. Carl Jr. said his daughter took the initiative to partner with MJFF, telling him, “This is a family business, and for us, Parkinson’s is a family disease.”

He appreciates MJFF’s approach — that it’s dedicated to pursuing improved treatments to increase the quality of life of patients living with Parkinson’s today, as well as discovering a cure. From a business perspective, he values the Foundation’s unusual approach in building a staff with the core expertise to assess and prioritize the Parkinson’s research landscape on an ongoing basis. He also admires the Foundation’s commitment to promoting scientific communication and collaboration in service of transparency and faster results.

With over $260,000 raised, the RaceTrac–MJFF partnership is still going strong. Another campaign is under way this month, which focuses on encouraging people to get involved — especially through Fox Trial Finder (see story, page 1) and Team Fox. With more than 24 million visitors to RaceTrac stores each month, the possibility to increase awareness and participation in Parkinson’s research is vast.

“RaceTrac supports a number of nonprofit organizations. As one of them, The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s mission and operating ethics align with our own core values,” Allison Moran concluded. “Partnering with the Foundation has allowed us to give back in a meaningful way to the communities that support us.”