13th Annual Udall Center Directors' Meeting

Translating Research to Treatment for Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders, Washington, D.C., September 13-14, 2011

The NINDS hosted the 13^th Annual Udall Center Directors Meeting in Washington, DC, for the Center Directors, Center project investigators and invited guests. 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.

This annual meeting of Udall Center Directors and investigators was a valuable opportunity for discussion of emergent issues in the research and treatment of PD and related disorders. The agenda included a scientific symposium detailing industry perspective on therapeutic development for PD, a brainstorming session on the role of Udall Centers in translating research to treatment, updates on collaborative projects among the Centers, and discussion of next steps for several ongoing PD-related projects and resources. Within this interactive forum, the annual meeting fostered the initiation and maintenance of collaborative efforts among the Centers.

Agenda    Participant List    Executive Summary

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