This financial year Shake It Up has shared news of five new research projects culminating in a recent announcement of a project we are funding at La Trobe University which seeks to develop a blood test for Parkinson’s.

The total value of these projects is over $1.6 million (co-funded on a 50/50 basis with The Michael J. Fox Foundation) making this partnership the largest non-government funder of Parkinson’s research in the country.

Whilst these announcements are significant and every project we fund will take us closer a cure for Parkinson’s, we are not there yet and we must maintain the momentum.

We must raise additional funds to ensure we have the resources available for the next wave of Parkinson’s research projects.

With June 30 fast approaching there is no better time to help us continue this journey. Your donation (over $2) is tax deductible which means that not only will 100% of your donation go to funding Australian Parkinson's research (our Founders cover the foundation's overheads), but you can also add it to your tax return in just a few weeks.

Our ambitious target is to raise an additional $1M by the end of the year.

Here is a snapshot of  the five research projects we have committed to so far this financial year:

1. Are there peripheral changes in GBA protein/activity in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease patients
   Led by Professor Glenda Halliday at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), this project looks at the GBA protein, which appears to not fully function in people living with Parkinson’s, to determine if it can be stabilised and therefore used as a potential new treatment for Parkinson’s. Read more>
2. Understanding LRRK2 S910/S935 phosphorylation is important for therapeutic LRRK2 inhibitor development.
   Led by Nicolas Dzamko at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), this project looks at what LRRK2 protein mutations do differently in Parkinson’s patients which is a significant priority as pharmaceutical companies are currently developing drugs that can block LRRK2 function. Read more>
3. Development of a novel tracer for imaging a-synuclein in vivo
   Led by Victor Villemagne and Kevin Barnham at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, this project focusses on the ability to visualise alpha-syncuclein in the brain as a potential biomarker of the presence of Parkinson’s as well as its progression. Read more>
4. Fluorescence tagging of endogenous LRRK2 to enable in vivo imaging in mice and differentiated human IPS cells.
   Led by Nicolas Dzamko at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), this projects aims to generate a fluorescent version of LRRK2 in mice and cells, allowing the protein to be easier to measure. Read more>
5. Measuring mitochondrial respiration and stress signalling in blood cells as biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease
   With funding support from Parkinson’s Victoria and led by Professor Paul Fisher, Dr Sarah Annesley and Dr Danuta Loesch-Mdzewska at La Trobe, this study seeks to build on previous findings and to ultimately develop a blood test to diagnose Parkinson’s. Read more>