'The Potential to Modify the Course of Parkinson's Disease'

(Press-News.org) Washington, DC – Georgetown University Medical Center's Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, joins preeminent scientists from academia, government, and industry along with advocates, at the "One Mind for Research Forum," a three-day conference designed to dramatically advance the understanding and treatment of brain disorders. By uniting a broad coalition, conference organizers will endorse a bold new 10-year research agenda for the field of neuroscience.

During the forum, May 23rd through May 25th in Boston, leading scientists will share the latest research on debilitating neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer's disease, autism, addiction and depression. Federoff, executive vice president of GUMC and a recognized neuroscientist, will present "The Potential to Modify the Course of Parkinson's Disease" on Tuesday, May 24th during a session beginning at 1:45pm.

"Parkinson's disease is currently treated symptomatically but we are compelled to modify natural history," says Federoff. Among issues he will discuss are when disease begins, the role of neuroinflammation, the impact of genetics and genomics and promising preclinical therapeutic strategies.

Former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy and business executive and philanthropist Garen Staglin will co-chair the forum. "We will launch an ambitious plan for research, uniting our nation's best and brightest in a way not seen since President John F. Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the moon 50 years ago," says Kennedy, calling this effort a "moonshot to the mind."

"In 1961, President Kennedy charted an unprecedented scientific goal for this country: to send a man to the moon," says Federoff. "Like that successfully ambitious trek, our exceptional challenge to transform neuroscience research will, as President Kennedy said, 'serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.' I congratulate Congressman Kennedy for leveraging his strengths in this call for a nationwide commitment to address critical need."

### For more information about the One Mind for Research Forum, visit their website at 1mind4research.org. To view the full agenda, click here.

About Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2009-2010, GUMC accounted for nearly 80 percent of Georgetown University's extramural research funding. END