Research

The Shake It Up Australia Foundation Approach To Research

Shake It Up Australia Foundation has one aim: to find a cure for Parkinson’s.

To jumpstart our ability to start funding research that holds the greatest promise for a cure, and to avoid reinventing the wheel, we are following the guidelines of The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Using their approach, we hope to reach the one clear measure of success: making Parkinson’s disease a thing of the past.. 

A targeted approach has been developed to identify and prioritise throughout the research process that will help to reach our goal, which is outlined below.

1. 1. Identifying Opportunities
   

Shake It Up Australia Foundation works closely with our own medical advisory board as well as the leading global specialists working with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the developments and initiatives in Parkinson’s research worldwide.   We then determine the research opportunities here in Australia that hold the most promise for improving diagnosis and treatment.

1. 2. The Selection Process

Once the most viable research opportunities are determined, expert scientific advisors review each individual proposal and establish those with the most potential to be readily transformed into new treatments, who is best suited to execute the strategy and plan, and identify the best results that put us in the best situation possible to achieve our goal of better treatment, and ultimately a cure.

1. 3. Development & Accountability

When the most promising research opportunities relating to our goals are identified, we organise funding to the scientists as soon as possible so research can begin almost right away.  With the support of MJFF and our medical expert advisory board, we work directly with the research team, setting milestones and evaluating outcomes and progress along the journey, to make certain that if any roadblocks or problems arise they have the best advice and support to set future directions, ensuring the best results are gained from the project.

1. 4. Analysis & Results

During the research development stage, we work directly with the scientific teams involved in order to learn of promising findings as soon as they occur.  Through the medical experts and our work with MJFF, we also ensure we are available to assist with promising findings that have occurred through research not funded by us.  We make certain they have the facilities and research teams they need to further develop these discoveries in order to get to our main goal – better treatments and ultimately a cure.

All research outcomes are useful for assisting us develop our next steps identifying the promising areas to focus on, and the process starts again — one step closer to our goal.

Since 2000, The Michael J Fox Foundation has funded more than $250 million in Parkinson’s research, either directly or through partnerships. Each dollar has helped to learn more about the disease, develop better treatments for patients and, ultimately, get us closer to ending Parkinson’s.