The East Tennessee Foundation (ETF), KiMe Fund has awarded a grant to Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research to support research that is directly related to finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. The grant is being funded by KiMe of East Tennessee Foundation, a field-of-interest fund, established in December 2010 by Steve Hodges after he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s Disease. KiMe is shorthand for his two daughters, Kim and Megan, and is symbolic of the need to cure Parkinson’s Disease before the next generation are diagnosed.
A KiMe Advisory Board Member who served on the five-person Evaluation Panel, Chris Tolleson, MD, remarked, “I enjoyed being part of the process looking at the proposals for KiMe grant. There were some excellent proposals from a variety of institutions…I am encouraged that so many are continuing to work towards a cure for Parkinson’s disease.” Fellow Board and Evaluation Panel Member, Eric Brinley, added, “Our group of Advisory Board Members brought different perspectives to the process…the quality of the requests was outstanding.” Michael T. McClamroch, President + CEO of East Tennessee Foundation added, “We are proud to partner with Michael J. Fox Foundation in their quest to improve the outcomes of those affected by this disease and ultimately find a cure.”
Michael J. Fox Foundation in New York, NY is the recipient of a $50,000 grant to support research being conducted to modify the progression of Parkinson’s Disease. KiMe’s support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation will fund novel and high-impact research to develop drug therapies targeting alpha-synuclein, LRRK2, GBA, and other emerging targets. This represents the fourth award made by KiMe to Michael J. Fox Foundation since 2013, bringing the total value of these awards to $150,000.
To learn more about KiMe’s mission and fundraising efforts, please visit their fund’s website: www.kimecnd.org. An overview of the KiMe grants process is available at ETF’s website at www.easttennesseefoundation.org.
For more information, please contact Jan Elston, Vice President for Competitive Grant Programs for East Tennessee Foundation, at (865) 524-1223, toll-free at 1-877-524-1223 or via e-mail at jelston@etf.org.
