Designed to stimulate new ideas, build research capacity, and support both emerging and established researchers, the Fight Parkinson’s seed funding program demonstrates our ongoing commitment to raising funds to support research focused on the prevention, improvement of life, and eventual cure for Parkinson’s (including Young-Onset) and Atypical Parkinson’s (including PSP, MSA, and CBS).
Congratulations to the following recipients and their research teams:
Basic Science Seed Grant
Research Lead: Assoc/Prof Christine Nguyen BOptom, PhD, CertOcTher, Head of Ocular Biomarker Laboratory, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences | Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, The University of Melbourne
Research Team & Roles:
- Prof David Finkelstein, Parkinson’s disease biologist/Consumer advocacy
- Prof Pete Williams, Vitamin B3 NAM expert/Translational neuroscientist
- Dr Pei Ying Lee (ECR), Clinician-scientist optometrist/Eyescan OCT expertise
- Dr Da Zhao (ECR), Tissue neuroprotection expertise/Retinal function expertise
Project Name: The Eye as a Window to Nicotinamide Neuroprotection in Parkinson’s Disease
Project Details: Imagine a future where a screening eye test at your local “Specsavers” could assess your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD) and your prognosis could be improved by taking a safe and inexpensive vitamin. A surge in PD is impending with rates set to double by 2040. Neuroprotective treatments in PD have failed to date because they have been trialled too late, after many neurons have been lost.
Our solution is to shift diagnosis to the prodromal phase using the eye, an accessible outpouching of the brain and treat early metabolic dysfunction before irreversible cell loss. This leverages recent advances in the field of retinal biomarkers in PD (led by CIA Nguyen) to link them to metabolism—a key early mechanism in PD—while demonstrating the potential of nicotinamide (NAM, the amide form of vitamin B3) as a neuroprotective treatment in an animal model as proof-of-principle.
Clinical Seed Grant
Research Lead: Dr Sarah Davies, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, School of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC)
Research Team & Roles:
- Associate Professor Florin Oprescu: Chief Investigator, UniSC, Public Health and Methodology
- Dr Elizabeth Proud: Chief Investigator UniMelb, Physiotherapist and Victorian Site Coordinator
- Robyn Higgins: Associate Investigator and Lived Experience Representative QLD
- Sheenagh Bottrell: Associate Investigator and Lived Experience Representative VIC
- Christine Fosberry: Student Investigators UniSC, Occupational Therapy Student
- Jenna Walker: Student Investigators UniSC, Occupational Therapy Student
- Santika Miller: Student Investigators UniSC, Occupational Therapy Student
Project Name: Mapping Real-World Stigma to Support Victorians with Parkinson’s
Project Details: Many Victorians living with Parkinson’s experience daily stigma, where symptoms like tremor or slowness are misread as intoxication or incompetence. This is more than social discomfort; it is a barrier to health and wellbeing. Existing survey methods, which rely on respondents recalling details of their experience hours to months after the event, fail to capture the specific contexts or “hot spots” where this stigma happens. This project addresses that gap by mapping these moments in real-time to create more targeted, actionable solutions.
We will utilise the Smartphone Ecological Momentary Assessment (SEMA3, University of Melbourne) app to capture stigma experiences in real-time. By moving beyond “after-the-fact” questionnaires, participants report stigma moments exactly as they occur, providing high-resolution data on environmental and social triggers.
Fight Parkinson’s is honoured to make this announcement and looks forward to sharing the progress and outcomes of these projects with the Parkinson’s community in the near future.
