Impact Awards Grant

The Parkinson's Foundation Impact Awards provide $200,000 over two years to support innovative research projects that explore unconventional ideas in Parkinson's disease (PD). This funding aims to enable both established and emerging researchers to develop groundbreaking approaches that may not fit traditional funding avenues, ultimately benefiting the PD community. Applications from underrepresented groups in science are particularly encouraged to foster diversity and inclusion in research initiatives.

NOTE: A peer-review committee will review the Letters of Intent (LOI), and proposals deemed meritorious and of interest will be invited for a full application, due within five to six weeks of the LOI decision.
All great ideas in science begin with a seed that, when nurtured, can profoundly impact the community. However, without adequate funding, these ideas may never get started, grow, or be fully explored. Recognizing this, the Parkinson's Foundation supports innovative projects from their inception, providing the necessary resources to maximize their impact on the Parkinson's community.
Program Overview
The science underlying the Parkinson's Foundation Impact Award projects should be "outside the box" with the goal of bringing new light to the biology of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a new approach to PD research, or testing a truly novel therapeutic idea. Projects should be based on groundbreaking or unconventional ideas that are unlikely to be funded through more traditional funding mechanisms. Our goal is to provide the support that will enable researchers to test new ideas with an impact on the PD community and generate compelling results that will facilitate continued investment from the Parkinson’s Foundation and other funders.
Level of Support
Each award provides $200,000 in total costs over 2 years ($100,000 per year). Up to 10% ($10,000 per year) of the total award may be used for indirect costs. The Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), and Co-Investigator (Co-I) combined salary support is capped at $35,000 annually. Salaries for the postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other key personnel are not capped. Tuition is not an eligible expense for any of the Foundation’s awards. The funds are awarded over two years, subject to annual progress reviews.

Eligibility

Both established researchers and newcomers to PD research are encouraged to apply.This award is open to scientists with a PhD or MD, regardless of nationality or location.Only independent investigators are eligible to apply: an applicant must be in a tenure-track position or equivalent. Non-tenure track faculty and postdoctoral fellows can have the role of Co-Primary Investigators or Co-Investigators. We will consider applications from Instructors who can demonstrate that they will begin a tenure-track position by the award start date (as confirmed by a support letter from their department chair). The Foundation is the sole determinant of the applicant’s eligibility.An applicant may apply to only one program per funding cycle.

Ineligibility

Awardees may not concurrently hold an award from another source with overlapping specific aims. Though important, the following areas are not within the scope of this award and will not be considered:Complementary and supportive therapies: Research focusing on diet, exercise, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychotherapy, social work, and community support.Clinical trialsProposals centered on clinical trial methodologies or conducting clinical trials.Proposals whose scope does not fit the time frame of this award (12-18 months):Proposals that cannot be completed within the specified time frame.Want to use human subjects but don’t have established cohorts: Proposals that intend to use human subjects but lack established cohorts.Meta-analysis of existing clinical studies: Research that involves analyzing data from existing clinical studies rather than generating new primary data.An applicant may not submit multiple LOIs (with different projects) to the same program during the same funding cycle.