Launched in 2014, The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders — a partnership between MJFF and the Edmond J. Safra Foundation — annually provides funding for academic centres around the world to, over two years, each train a new movement disorder specialist. With generous additional support from the Edmond J. Safra Foundation — due to the program’s tremendous success — the fellowship recently expanded from five to eight centers awarded each year.
The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders is growing a global base of dedicated movement disorder specialists around the world who deliver high-quality patient care and lead scientific advances toward better understanding and treatment of movement disorders. The Fellowship now extends across 23 world-renowned academic institutions in seven countries and is on track to graduate 48 new specialists by the year 2025.
The Class of 2024 awardees are: Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio; Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois; Toronto Western Hospital in Ontario, Canada; University College London in London, England; and The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
An external review committee of movement disorder specialists, assembled by MJFF, selected the eight centers from a highly competitive group of applicants. Selection of awardees was based on several criteria, including previous history training successful movement disorder clinician-researchers; the breadth and depth of clinical care and research education and opportunities; departmental support for the fellow; and — new to the 2024 application — programs and opportunities that equip fellows with the skills and knowledge to advance equitable access and diversity across clinical care services, research, education and community outreach.
“We are honored to be selected by The Michael J. Fox Foundation to train the next generation of movement disorder clinician-researchers through the distinguished Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders,” said Professor Bhatia, as the ION’s lead for the fellowship. “These up-and-coming experts will stand at intersection of patient care and research and be uniquely positioned to drive the field forward.”
ION now is recruiting a fellow for the Class of 2024 Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders. The candidate will begin their two-year training on or before July 2022.
“This growing global network of expertly trained movement disorder specialists will help ensure that people and families living with Parkinson’s receive comprehensive and compassionate care and that critical research moves forward to meet their most pressing needs,” said Lily Safra, chairwoman of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. “I’m deeply proud of The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship’s significant impact on Parkinson’s care and research.”