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Hi Perry,

I've been thinking about this tremendous idea of yours, and I'd like to
share my thoughts with you.  But first, I'd like to call you and listen
to your ideas and what you are envisioning.  Your words sparked some
simmering ideas I have been having about a new approach at pushing for a
cure.

If you're willing, I'd like to hear you present your vision of such a
project: how you see it organized, funded--private and public funds, how
would one recruit top scientists, convince private companies to work
together, it's feasibility, and so on.  I'd like to be part of the
brainstorming on this--I'm developing a vision of organization in support
of the project.

Let me know if you want to discuss this with me, and when.

Thanks,

Charlotte Mancuso



On True, 6 Aug 2002 10:39:47 -0400 Perry Cohen <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> An idea whose time has come? A well organized, focused assault on PD.
> If
> the entire PD world got behind such an effort, could it work? What do
> you think?
>
> Foundations focus on the results above their own organizations and
> collaborate to organize a focused effort on the scale of the
> Manhattan
> Project; Scientists develop a plan to fill gaps in knowledge needed
> for
> curative therapies; NIH pays out the $135m shortfall in the PD
> research
> agenda; Drug companies make major contributions and share
> discoveries.
>
> Perry Cohen
>
>
> Cure Parkinson's Project
>
> http://www.givingback.org/GIVINGBACK/
>
> Giving Back Fund (GBF) Collaborates with Leaders in Parkinson's
> Research
> to Fund Cure
>
> What began as a conversation over lunch could end up curing one of
> the
> most debilitating diseases of our time. The conversation took place
> between GBF founder and President Marc Pollick, sports marketing
> pioneer
> Jim Warsaw (a Parkinson’s patient, GBF Board Member, and leader in
> the
> fight for a cure) and Dr. Jim Fallon, Parkinson’s researcher at the
> University of California, Irvine. What if, the three surmised, the
> leading scientists and Parkinson’s researchers chose to ignore
> politics
> as usual and the competitive nature of major research and tackled the
> disease as a team, openly sharing their theories and scientific
> findings? Could a cure be found faster than the current estimates of
> 10
> to 15 years? Thus, was formed the idea for the Cure Parkinson's
> Project,
> modeled after the Manhattan Project of the 1940's in which leading
> scientists collaborated to discover the atomic bomb.
>
> Already the project is attracting the attention of leaders in the
> scientific and medical communities. The first milestone for the
> Project
> will be a conference that will bring together the major stakeholders
> in
> the discussion—scientists, Parkinson's foundations, well-known
> figures
> who suffer from Parkinson's Disease and potential funders. The
> conference will address ways in which the Parkinson’s community can
> overcome obstacles such as the sharing of intellectual property
> rights
> so that we can move forward together to find a cure. A cure for
> Parkinson’s could potentially benefit those who suffer from related
> neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple
> Sclerosis, ALS, and some spinal chord injuries as well.
>
> When asked about the project Dr. Fallon stated "The creation of a
> large
> scale consortium to bring the top Parkinson's research teams together
> under one roof for 3-4 years is an extraordinarily unique and
> powerful
> model to find a cure for PD once and for all. Breaking down the
> barriers
> between multidisciplinary basic and clinical research teams in a
> setting
> of instant synergy should dramatically shorten the time and cost of
> finding a cure. This is an ambitious and exciting project that
> approaches the scope of the Manhattan project. Most patients and
> their
> physicians do not want to wait 15 years for a cure nor do they want
> to
> hear an empty promise of a cure in 5 years. It takes this scope of a
> concerted effort of the best researchers from around the world to
> realistically deliver a cure in such a short time."
>
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