Praise for Bay Area Parkinson’s Pioneers

SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 17, 2015 - PRLog -- Moving Day® Silicon Valley, a program of the National Parkinson Foundation, debuts on Saturday, April 25 at Arena Green East, in San Jose. To inaugurate their annual walk event the local planning committee will honor Parkinson’s pioneers in the Bay Area who are dedicating their lives to neuroscience research and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Prior to the beginning of the walk the group of Parkinson’s pioneers will be recognized and they will have the honor of leading the official walk.

“The recognition of local leaders in neuroscience research and treatment of Parkinson’s disease significantly impacts public awareness of the disease,” said Colleen Fischer, Moving Day Bay Area Coordinator. “So much scientific research is going on in Silicon Valley’s hub of technology, and the deserving group of individuals making it happen are worthy of a spotlight.”

Darcy Blake, chairperson for Moving Day® Silicon Valley was inspired to recognize Parkinson’s pioneers during a visit to Circuit Therapeutics, an industry leader in optogenetics. On the tour she met researcher Daniel Zwilling who works with light-based genetically altered neurons. “Heroes like Daniel work in labs all day. They rarely have a chance to meet scientists doing similar work or receive praise for their efforts. I wanted to do something to thank such leaders publicly for their contribution to neuroscience.” Blake, who had successful Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in 2013, added, “We’d particularly like to thank our sponsor Circuit Therapeutics for making this gesture of appreciation possible.”

Moving Day® Silicon Valley is a celebration of movement at Arena Green in San Jose that unites families, friends and communities in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. The half-day agenda features a family friendly walk course of one, two or three miles, a special Movement Pavilion featuring yoga, hula, Zumba, Tai Chi, Pilates, boxing, pole-walking, and exercises proven to help manage the symptoms of PD. A community resource center will include information relating to Parkinson’s disease, and an innovation section will feature new technology for PD.

Suggestions for pioneers, requests for information, or questions may be sent to Colleen Fischer, Moving Day® Bay Area Coordinator, National Parkinson Foundation at 925-421-6737 cfischer@parkinson.org. Register for the event at www.movingdaysiliconvalley.org.

About Moving Day
To learn more about Moving Day^® and how you, your family and friends, and/or your company can get involved, please visit www.MovingDayBayArea.org. Moving Day^® is made possible, in part, through the generous support of national sponsors, including Moving Day^® National Partners: Lundbeck,UCB, US WorldMeds and Right at Home. Additional national and local sponsorship opportunities are available.

About the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
Founded in 1957, the mission of the National Parkinson Foundation is to improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson’s disease through research, education and outreach. NPF has funded more than $189 million in care, research and support services.

For more information about the National Parkinson Foundation, please visit http://www.parkinson.org or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).