Announcing Bridge Funding to Alleviate Parkinson’s Research Funding Cuts
The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) funds cutting-edge research every year, identifying the most promising researchers and projects through a meticulous evaluation process. APDA has recently gone a step further to ensure that researchers who are facing unexpected delays and even cuts in funding have a chance to keep their important work moving forward. Just this summer, APDA acted quickly and launched its first-ever Bridge Funding Awards and selected three outstanding investigators to receive much-needed additional support for the 2025–2026 cycle.
What is Bridge Funding and Why Does it Matter?
Scientific research can take many years to see tangible progress and is very expensive to conduct. To be successful, researchers must apply for and be awarded funding to conduct their work, often securing money from various federal and philanthropic sources, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), other government agencies and various non-profit organizations such as APDA. With this funding in hand, researchers can then build their lab, train their staff, collect data, and refine methods to move their research forward. Recently, federal funding has been uncertain, and in some cases has led to pauses or gaps in funding which in turn has left research projects in limbo.
Concerned about the current funding challenges researchers were experiencing, APDA stepped in to help fill the gap. The Bridge Funding program was created to sustain promising PD research during these vulnerable transition periods. In this first round, APDA awarded a total of $205,000 across three one-year projects. The program was open specifically to scientists whom APDA had recently funded, meaning this support builds directly on a strong foundation of proven, high-quality research.
The bridge funding keeps essential work alive. It allows labs to retain key personnel, maintain access to resources, and continue generating data and studies that can strengthen future grant applications as well.
Who is APDA funding with the new Bridge Funding Awards?
Below are the three inaugural awardees and their crucial projects that are being advanced through this bridge funding. As these projects unfold over the next year, the APDA community will follow their progress closely.
Dr. Donghe Yang
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Project: Characterizing and modeling the development of human A9 midbrain dopaminergic neurons with pluripotent stem cells
Dr. Yang’s work focuses on cell loss within the brain and ways to regenerate them. Specifically, he’s studying the A9 subtype of midbrain dopaminergic neurons—cells located in the substantia nigra that are crucial for controlling movement and are the ones most affected in PD. By creating a detailed molecular roadmap of these vulnerable neurons, his work could lead to better lab models for studying the disease and eventually inform cell-replacement therapies that restore lost brain function.
Here’s what Dr. Yang says about this important funding: “This bridge funding will be critical to sustaining the momentum of my research during a challenging funding environment. Specifically, it will enable two key next steps essential for advancing my work on midbrain dopaminergic neuron subtype specification and Parkinson’s disease modeling. These studies will not only preserve critical experimental momentum, but also generate foundational evidence that will inform and strengthen my future independent research program.”
Dr. Helen Hwang
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Project: Characterization of inhibitors of alpha-synuclein fibril growth
Dr. Hwang’s research tackles another core feature of PD: the buildup of a protein called alpha-synuclein. In PD, alpha-synuclein can misfold and form toxic clumps known as fibrils. These fibrils spread from cell to cell, disrupting normal brain function and ultimately leading to cell death.
Her goal is to stop that process. Dr. Hwang has developed a highly sensitive laboratory assay that measures alpha-synuclein fibril growth in real time. She’s screening potential drug candidates that could block or slow down fibril formation with this system, which would be the first of its kind if successful.
However, advancing from a promising assay to a validated drug discovery platform takes time, continuity, and resources. Dr. Hwang’s funding to complete this work was in jeopardy and that’s where APDA’s bridge funding came in to allow Dr. Hwang and her team to validate their findings in cellular models and strengthen the data they need to apply for larger, long-term funding.
Here’s what Dr. Hwang says about this important funding:“This bridge funding is critical to sustaining my Parkinson’s disease biomarker research during a challenging funding transition. I am an early-career physician-scientist at Washington University focused on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers and therapeutics in PD. Recently, one of my funding sources was discontinued, which reduced my protected research time. Prior to the discontinuation, I identified two promising CSF markers of synaptic dysfunction (NPTX2 and SST). Bridge funding will safeguard my research time and enable validation of these markers using a high-sensitivity immunoassay platform, analysis of their associations with motor and cognitive outcomes, and preparation of a manuscript. This support will preserve research continuity and position me to pursue competitive career development awards to advance an independent research program in PD biomarkers and therapeutics.”
Dr. Franchino Porciuncula
Boston University, Boston, MA
Project: Does rhythmic auditory stimulus reduce the cognitive demands of walking in Parkinson’s disease?
While Dr. Yang and Dr. Hwang focus on the biology driving PD, Dr. Porciuncula is looking at how to improve life for people already living with it. His work explores how rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) can help people with Parkinson’s move more easily and safely. RAS involves walking in time with rhythmic sounds or music.
For many people with PD, walking becomes slower, less stable, and more mentally taxing. The simple act of moving across a room can require intense focus and can lead to freezing episodes or falls. Dr. Porciuncula’s research investigates whether rhythmic cues can reduce the cognitive effort of walking—helping people maintain smoother movement and greater independence.
The project combines neuroscience, biomechanics, and physical therapy. Participants walk while listening to rhythmic sounds or music cues, and researchers measure brain activity, gait patterns, and cognitive load. The results could inform new rehabilitation strategies that harness the brain’s natural ability to synchronize movement with rhythm.
Here’s what Dr. Porciuncula says about this important funding:“This bridge funding is critical to sustaining our Parkinson’s disease research amid federal funding cuts that have slowed recruitment and staffing across Boston University. Despite these challenges, our team has validated the study protocol, established recruitment pipelines, and built an interdisciplinary team with expertise in Parkinson’s rehabilitation, neuropsychology, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy imaging. This new support from APDA will enable completion of data collection for the final 10 participants of a 30-person study, expanded testing of music-based cues on gait and cognition, and completion of data analysis and two manuscripts. These findings will position us for future competitive funding and ensure the study’s completion, maximizing its impact on advancing music- and rhythm-based interventions for Parkinson’s disease.”
Bridging Future Gaps
Each project represents different points along the research pipeline, but they each need continued momentum to make an impact. A delay in funding, or worse a year without funding, could mean losing years of accumulated expertise and opportunity. By launching this bridge funding program, APDA is ensuring that promising PD research continues to move forward uninterrupted, connecting the dots between one discovery and the next. We look forward to assisting additional researchers with our Bridge Funding Program.
Tips & Takeaways
- APDA has inaugurated a Bridge Funding Award to assist researchers who are experiencing funding challenges so they can finish their promising projects.
- To help support APDA in this critical mission, please visit us at apdaparkinson.org/donate.
- To learn more about the important research APDA funds every year, visit the Research section of our website.