After a challenging few months for us all, in this edition we’re pleased to be celebrating national volunteers’ week on 1–7 June. We also have some great blog posts written by patient and public involvement contributors, and we share the outputs of a research meeting we supported. Volunteers’ Week — thank you! Volunteers’ week —…

The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on research activities across the UK, and beyond. Perhaps most obviously, research priorities immediately shifted to focus on COVID-19 studies, as research was declared a key part of the government’s response to the pandemic. But alongside this, the pandemic meant that many…

Gillian and Neil, research volunteers at Parkinson’s UK, share their experience of taking part in a workshop to help shape research being carried out by UCB — a global biopharmaceutical company who are developing new treatments for Parkinson’s. — In 2019, Parkinson’s UK and UCB hosted a workshop with 14 people affected by Parkinson’s to discuss the form of a medication to be used in a planned new trial, and how it should be packaged. …

Sticking to a medication schedule can be particularly difficult for people with Parkinson’s, so this must be considered when designing and trialling new treatments. We have been working alongside people affected by Parkinson’s to do just this ahead of a clinical trial. — When developing a new medicine, scientists need to think about how it will be delivered to the body, and how often people will need to take it.

My key takeaways from this year’s conference, held in January. — I wrote this blog before lockdown, and since then the world has changed drastically in many ways. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the need to ensure that patients and the public are involved in research — from the outset. There’s been lots of great progress over the last…

Richard Campbell, Research Support Network volunteer, shares his perspectives on his involvement in a European research project aiming to improve our understanding of Parkinson’s and open the door to new treatments. — PDMitoQUANT is a research project that is trying to unravel some of the possible causes of Parkinson’s. The project is looking at interactions between three things that are known to be involved in the development of Parkinson’s:

My key takeaways from this year’s conference. — Just as the grey skies in the UK set in for winter, myself and a colleague had the opportunity to spend a few days in Barcelona for the Clinical Trials Europe conference which took place from 19–21 November. Formerly called ‘Partnerships in Clinical Trials Europe’ (PCT), the conference aimed to…

How we’re supporting pharmaceutical companies to work with people affected by Parkinson’s to improve research. — Research is changing. The expertise of people living with health conditions is increasingly being recognised as crucial to the development of new medicines. …

How we’re helping Parkinson’s researchers overcome some of the common barriers to patient and public involvement. — In this blog, we highlight our Research Involvement Awards — a pioneering Parkinson’s UK scheme providing researchers with expert guidance and support to carry out patient and public involvement. …