The Michael J. Fox Foundation Announces Landmark Parkinson's Study Enters New Era of Precision Medicine

The Michael J. Fox Foundation marks 15 years of the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative, now renamed the Parkinson's Precision Medicine Initiative to reflect a shift toward biology-driven research

NEW YORK, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF), which sponsors the landmark Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), today announced the study will be renamed the Parkinson's Precision Medicine Initiative, reflecting a major shift in how Parkinson's disease is understood and studied.

The change comes at a pivotal moment. Parkinson's is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world, affecting an estimated 1.2 million Americans and costing the U.S. federal government more than $82 billion annually. At the same time, scientific advances are making it possible to detect and understand the disease earlier than ever before.

The name change reflects how far the study has come — from a bold effort to identify biomarkers to a global biorepository helping define Parkinson's by biology, identify it earlier and build more targeted approaches to treatment.

From Discovery to Precision

Since its launch in 2010, PPMI has been powered by a global community of tens of thousands of participants—including people living with Parkinson's, those at risk and control volunteers—who have contributed their time, experiences and biological samples over many years. Today, researchers understand that Parkinson's is not a single disease, but one with many subtypes driven by different underlying biology.

That insight is powering a new approach: precision medicine, which focuses on tailoring treatments based on an individual's biology rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

Recent breakthroughs, including the validation of the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SAA) with PPMI samples, now allow researchers to detect Parkinson's-related biology even before hallmark symptoms appear. Earlier detection creates the opportunity to study and eventually treat disease at earlier stages.

"This is not just a new name, it reflects a real change in what Parkinson's research can achieve on behalf of people and families living with the disease," said Sohini Chowdhury, chief program officer of MJFF. "We're moving toward a future where we can define disease by biology, identify it earlier and build more targeted treatments."

A Moment of Urgency and Opportunity

While current Parkinson's treatments primarily manage symptoms, there are now more than 75 potential disease-modifying therapies, treatments that would slow or stop the disease course, in clinical development. At the same time, Parkinson's prevalence continues to rise faster than projected, underscoring the urgency to move earlier and faster.

An upcoming Special Issue in the Annals of Neurology, "From Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative to Parkinson's Precision Medicine Initiative: Still PPMI," captures how 15 years of PPMI data and methods helped bring the field to this moment. Across a collection of peer-reviewed papers, study leadership outlines PPMI's evolution — from expanding participant cohorts and embracing new technologies to redefining how Parkinson's is characterized by biology.

"PPMI has helped build the foundation for how we now define Parkinson's by biology and design studies around that understanding," said Thomas F. Tropea, DO, Special Issue lead author and PPMI Investigator. "This is a critical step toward developing more targeted and effective therapies."

The supplement also features an introduction by Michael J. Fox, reflecting on the vision behind PPMI and the progress made possible through the commitment of participants, researchers and partners worldwide.

Powered by Participants

Behind this progress are thousands of global study participants who have contributed their time, data and experiences to make PPMI one of the most collaborative research efforts in Parkinson's history.

Today, PPMI includes more than 4,200 in-clinic participants across 50 sites in 12 countries, along with over 47,000 online participants contributing data through its digital platform. PPMI data is made available to researchers worldwide and has been downloaded more than 50 million times, helping to accelerate discovery across the field.

This announcement comes as MJFF convenes hundreds of academic, research and industry leaders alongside study participants from around the world at the PPMI Annual Investigators Meeting in New York City. Hosted by MJFF, the annual meeting brings together the global PPMI community to share new findings, reflect on 15 years of progress and shape the next phase of research.

As the study evolves, it is also becoming ever more participant centered. Through its global digital research hub my PPMI, individuals can contribute health data and participate in studies remotely. Through initiatives like Return of Research Information (RORI), PPMI is also pioneering how to responsibly share individual research results — such as biomarker and imaging findings — with participants, alongside education and support.

Together, these efforts help participants better understand their own data while advancing research for the broader community. 

PPMI is no longer just collecting data; it is helping researchers connect the dots to identify disease earlier and build a path toward treatments that can meaningfully change lives. Anyone over age 18 can participate in PPMI and contribute to this research by visiting myppmi.org.

"Participating in PPMI is a way for me to actively contribute to research that could change how Parkinson's is understood and treated," said Marty Acevedo, a member of MJFF's PPMI Patient Advisory Board. "Knowing that the data we provide is helping researchers develop more personalized treatments gives me hope for the future."

PPMI: A Collaborative Resource Powered by Partners

Over the past 15 years, The Michael J. Fox Foundation has invested more than $800 million in building one of the most comprehensive Parkinson's datasets in the world.

Backed by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation and supported by partners including Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) — whose funding has enabled a seismic expansion into understanding the underlying heterogeneity around disease risk, onset and progression — these collective efforts have accelerated PPMI recruitment, enabled remote testing and advanced assay development, leading to breakthroughs such as αSyn-SAA. This infrastructure provides a ready platform for future discoveries.

PPMI is further supported by longtime visionary partner and lead gift from Lily Safra and the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. Additional critical funding partners include Connie and Steven Ballmer; the Riley and Susan Bechtel Foundation; the Farmer Family Foundation; Scarlet Feather Fund; Karen Finerman and Lawrence Golub; Lisa Piazza and David Golub; Leslie and Colin Masson; the Rawley Family Foundation; Kerry and Chuck Tyler. The study is also funded by a consortium of more than 40 biotech and pharmaceutical firms providing financial and in-kind support, and by tens of thousands of generous supporters to The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

This momentum toward precision medicine builds on more than two decades of scientific progress and an innovative funding model that has generated over $3 billion to support global Parkinson's research programs.

"PPMI was once a bold risk. It's now widely recognized as the premier study in Parkinson's, a transformative resource that researchers can leverage to accelerate measurable scientific progress. But the contributions of strength and courage that got us here are impossible to measure," said Michael J. Fox. "Thanks to the phenomenal Parkinson's community, PPMI is truly the study that is changing everything — and creating unprecedented opportunity for more breakthroughs."

For more information, visit www.michaeljfox.org/ppmi.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research 

As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors, and volunteers. In addition to funding $3 billion in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, MJFF forges groundbreaking collaborations, creates robust open-access data sets and biosample libraries with its landmark clinical study (PPMI), increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool (Fox Trial Finder), promotes Parkinson's awareness, and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.

SOURCE The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research