An interview with Deputy CEO Helen Matthews from Cure Parkinson’s July 14, 2023 by George Ackerman, Ph.D, J.D.
Biography
Helen Matthews is Deputy CEO of Cure Parkinson’s. She has been involved with the charity since its inception and worked alongside the late charity co-founder Tom Isaacs since 2002. Helen specializes in PR, marketing, event planning and administration. Helen oversees the charity’s current research and patient initiative projects as well as the day-to-day operations of the charity. Helen sits on Cure Parkinson’s International Linked Clinical Trials (iLCT) and Research Committees.
Can you tell me more about Cure Parkinson’s?
Cure Parkinson’s was founded by four people living with Parkinson’s, one of whom was Tom Isaacs who I had known from the age of 18. Tom developed Parkinson’s at the age of 26 and seven years later went on to walk 4,500 miles around the coastline of Britain, and I had the privilege of supporting him during that journey.
Goals
Everything we do is to move us closer to our goal, of finding new treatments to slow, stop or reverse the progression of Parkinson’s. Your donations and your involvement in research will lead to the breakthrough we all want to see.
Curing Parkinson’s needs world-class collaborative science involving researchers, clinicians, the pharmaceutical industry and, most importantly, people who are living with Parkinson’s. This collaboration is at the heart of our research programme.
Our leadership and funding enable the world’s leading neuroscientists and neurologists to prioritize, together, the next generation of drugs for clinical trial. We’re acting with urgency, for people currently living with Parkinson’s, with a focus on research which has potential to translate into the clinic within five years.
We’ve made significant progress towards our goal. As well as reshaping the approach to Parkinson’s research, we’ve directly funded, or secured funding, for over £75 million of clinical trials searching for a cure for Parkinson’s. But there’s so much more that we need to do.
We have three strategic aims; we believe that if we deliver these, we are giving ourselves the best chance of realizing our goal of finding a cure.
- To work with the world’s leading scientists and clinicians to find a cure.
- To be an international catalyst in the search for a cure
- To work with people affected by Parkinson’s to support, inform and accelerate the search for a cure.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
A couple of years after the walk, Tom went on to found Cure Parkinson’s to invest in research to find a cure and as before I chose to support this journey. I believe it is vital to involve people living with Parkinson’s in this research effort as their insights shape the research, we can drive forward. In 2012 the charity created its International Linked Clinical Trials Programme, the brainchild of our Director of Clinical Research Richard Wyse and this has led to 20 completed and 20 active clinical trials of drugs with the potential to slow, stop or even reverse Parkinson’s involving nearly 5,000 people with Parkinson’s globally.
What type of goals do individuals with Parkinson’s have when working Cure Parkinson’s?
Cure Parkinson’s was set up in 2005 by four people living with Parkinson’s.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in research or curative treatments, Tom Isaacs, Sir Richard Nichols, Air Vice Marshal Michael Dicken and Sir David Jones set out to find a cure, focusing on research projects with the potential to slow, stop or reverse the progression of Parkinson’s.
Since then, the charity they started has made significant progress in the quest for a cure. Cure Parkinson’s has funded millions of pounds of research, made scientific discoveries, and opened new avenues of research. We’ve made enormous strides in involving people with Parkinson’s in research and given hope to many who are living with the disease. Our innovative approach – which has led to collaborations with the world’s leading researchers and their inspirational work, combined with the active support of thousands of people living with Parkinson’s around the world – is bringing us closer to a cure for Parkinson’s.
“We have raised and facilitated significant investment into Parkinson’s research. We have been responsible for uncovering scientific discoveries which will, I have no doubt, ultimately lead to a breakthrough. And we have involved people with Parkinson’s every step of the way, ensuring research is relevant and targeted…
“Together, we will conquer Parkinson’s! “
Tom Isaacs, late President & Co-founder of Cure Parkinson’s
What effect can Cure Parkinson’s have on an individual with Parkinson’s?
Cure Parkinson’s is a research funder and as such creates opportunities for people living with Parkinson’s and their loved ones to get involved in research.
We do not receive statutory funding; our work is made possible only by our donors and fundraisers each year. However, our influence does not arise solely from the funding we raise and provide for research. Since our beginning, we’ve directly funded, or secured funding, for over £75 million of clinical trials searching for a cure for Parkinson’s by working alongside institutional funders, governmental funding bodies and other charities and of course people living with Parkinson’s.
People living with Parkinson’s are the key to raising the profile, and therefore investment into Parkinson’s. They are essential partners in designing effective and relevant research programs. The voices of the Parkinson’s community have never been more important.
For more see https://cureparkinsons.org.uk/our-research-strategy/
What would you like to see as a future goal for your programs?
I would like to see cures for Parkinson’s developed with and for people living with Parkinson’s.
What events do you participate in?
We not only create events about research and events for researchers, but we also create fundraising events to raise the much-needed funds for research.
How does this also assist the caregivers?
The voice of caregivers is too often overlooked in research. In a 2019 survey we discovered that caregivers can accurately report back on how their loved ones are feeling – this is a resource that should be tapped into for those that are research active.
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community, what would it be?
Through collaboration, commitment and inspirational science informed by people living with Parkinson’s, we will find ways to change the progression of Parkinson’s.