12th Annual Udall Center Directors Meeting

12^th Annual Udall Center Directors Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 11-13, 2010

The NINDS hosted the 12^th Annual Udall Center Directors Meeting in Washington, DC. The Udall Centers of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research program was established by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in 1997 immediately following the passage of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Act into law. These Centers represent a key component of the NINDS research portfolio in Parkinson's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. The goal of this program is to fund multidisciplinary Centers of Excellence that can rapidly advance innovative research to improve understanding and treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and related disorders. Udall Centers perform state-of-the-art basic, translational, and clinical research on PD, including examination of underlying neurobiological and neuropathological mechanisms, identification and characterization of candidate and disease-associated genes, establishment of improved PD models, target identification and early testing of potential therapeutic strategies, and the initiation of novel avenues of clinical research.

The 2010 meeting was designed to provide an optimal environment in which participants can discuss emergent issues in the research and treatment of Parkinson's disease. The Agenda included the introduction of new Centers at Emory University and at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, updates on recent advances in the current Centers, as well as discussion sessions on cross-cutting topics designed to maximize interactions among participants. By providing a focused and interactive Agenda, the annual meeting fostered the initiation and maintenance of collaborative efforts among the Centers.

NINDS is committed to continuing and enhancing the tradition of scientific excellence fostered by the Udall Centers and will continue efforts to strengthen the Udall program in coming years.

Agenda    Participant List    Executive Summary

Contact:
Beth-Anne Sieber, Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders
Phone: (301) 496-5680
E-mail: sieberb@ninds.nih.gov