Meet the Newest Davis Phinney Foundation Leaders in Parkinson’s

Board-member-announcement-Davis Phinney Foundation December 2020

We are delighted to announce the creation of The Davis Phinney Foundation Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Advisory Board. This team of renowned healthcare providers and leaders in the fields of equity and inclusion will play an integral role in our work to better understand and change deeply rooted inequities in healthcare that black, brown, and indigenous communities; LGBTQ+; immigrant, and refugee communities; and people of color experience.

We are also happy to announce that we’ve added three new members to our Science Advisory Board. We’re excited they're joining us and sharing their talents and knowledge as we continue to help people with Parkinson’s live well today.

Here, we share a quick snapshot of our new leaders. You can read the full bios of our IDEA Advisory Board members here, and the bios of our Science Advisory Board members here.

Founding members, IDEA ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Ruth C. Browne, SD, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ronald McDonald House New York, an Associate Clinical Professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and holds academic appointments in the Schools of Medicine, Health Related Professions and Public Health. As an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Manhattan Chapter, Dr. Browne advances leadership opportunities for African-American women of all ages.

Dr. Nabila Dahodwala, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a Senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Institute of Aging fellow and Director of the Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence at Penn. Her research interests involve access to care; disease prevention and health promotion; disparities and health equity; and global health and risk communication.

Dr. Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH, FAAN, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She leads the MGH Neurology Diversity Committee, is part of the MGH Executive Committee of Community Health and MGH Diversity Committee. Her work, which has been recognized with numerous honors, focuses on advancing equity through patient care, research, education, and administration.

New members, Science ADVISORY BOARD

Josefa Domingos - Davis Phinney Foundation Science Advisory BoardJosefa Domingos is a Physiotherapist specializing in Parkinson's with 15 years of working exclusively with people with Parkinson's & other movement disorders. As an educator, clinician, and researcher, she is currently finishing her PhD on Practicalities of Community exercise in PD at Radboud University Centre (The Netherlands), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Bas Bloem. She is also currently the National Health Coordinator of the Portuguese Parkinson Patient Association (APDPk), a board member of the European Parkinson Disease Association (EPDA), and coordinator of the rehabilitation working group of the Portuguese Medical Movement Disorder Society (SPDMov).

Mark Mapstone is Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He is a member of the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders and a Fellow of the UCI Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. His research focuses on pre-clinical detection of neurological disease using cognitive tests and biomarkers obtained from blood. He has a special interest in developing strategies to maintain successful cognitive aging. In the clinic, he specializes in cognitive assessment of older adults with suspected brain disease. Dr. Mapstone earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Northwestern University and completed fellowship training in Neuropsychology and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Rochester. He received a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging and his research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the Department of Defense.

Anson Rosenfeldt - Davis Phinney Foundation Science Advisory BoardAnson Rosenfeldt is a neurological specialist in the field of physical therapy. She uses her physical therapy background to lead several clinical trials examining the role of exercise and neurological disease. She has an interest in the use of technology to improve rehabilitation outcomes and improve remote monitoring capabilities.

 

We thank Alicia Flach, Travis Gawler, and Thomas Woolley for their service on the Science Advisory Board and are grateful for their contributions.

We also offer a heartfelt thank-you to Tim Collier, who has served as Board Chair since 2009. We thank him for his dedication and look forward to continuing to work with him as he transitions from this role to that of a standing Science Board Advisory Member.

We congratulate and welcome our new Board Chair, Joohi Jimenez-Shahed. We look forward to her leadership and are grateful she will continue to offer guidance from her years of diverse experience.

Share this post on social:

To receive our electronic newsletter and other updates, sign up now.

Related Posts

Back to top