NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The British non-profit Parkinson's UK plans to provide £750,000 ($1.2 million) for research to find protein biomarkers for diagnosing and measuring the progress of Parkinson's disease.
The new grant, which is available to researchers within and outside the UK, will fund a study that uses a proteomics-based approach to identify biomarkers in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, Parkinson's UK said in a funding announcement late last week.
These markers would enable better and more accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's, or would be used to assess the efficacy of new therapies, such as neuroprotective or neurorestorative drugs.
Results from the three-year study will be integrated into the non-profit's Tracking Parkinson's longitudinal clinical study, which aims to enlist thousands of patients through a network of more than 40 study centers across the UK.
Parkinson's UK said that universities, research institutes, or hospital trusts may apply for the funding, and it will consider projects that involve collaborations between the academic and biotech business sector.