Award honors Parkinson’s pioneer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Sept. 27, 2017) — Van Andel Research Institute and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust announce Thomas Foltynie, B.Sc., MBBS, MRCP, Ph.D., as the recipient of the inaugural Tom Isaacs Award, which was established in memory of Trust co-founder and champion of the Parkinson’s community Tom Isaacs. Foltynie is a consultant neurologist at University College London, and the senior author of a groundbreaking study that shows the diabetes drug exenatide may interfere with Parkinson’s progression, something no current medication can do.

Isaacs passed away in May of this year. In the spirit of Isaacs’ ethos, recipients of the award must have had a significant impact on the lives of people with Parkinson’s and/or involved people with Parkinson’s in a participatory way in their work.