# Research Project 2 will use remote assessments to engage large, novel populations of participants with Parkinson disease

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2021 · $221,378

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Current clinical research methods require a massive research infrastructure and multiple clinical sites to recruit
a sufficient number of participants. The result is research that is expensive, protracted, variable, and
burdensome to participants. The limitations of this approach are well-recognized and unavoidable given current
research methods. We aim to establish, expand and evaluate the use of virtual visits as a new model for
national clinical research studies in Parkinson disease (PD). This approach is efficient, agile, and enables
individuals to participate regardless of geography, disease burden, or ability to travel.
We will collaborate with a personal genomics company (23andMe) to conduct a 36-month, virtual research
study and establish a nationwide cohort of LRRK2 carriers without manifest PD (n=350) and with manifest PD
(n=50). LRRK2 mutations are the most common autosomal dominant cause of PD and LRRK2 is a promising
target for disease-modifying therapeutics. We will prospectively characterize all 400 LRRK2 carriers through
virtual research visits with remote expert assessment from a single research site. Moreover, we anticipate that
we will be able to successfully recruit and retain the targeted number of participants and that we will reach
individuals who have not been represented in prior LRRK2 cohorts. In addition to demonstrating the
advantages of the approach and evaluating study-specific hypotheses, the resulting large cohort of well-
characterized and engaged LRRK2 carriers will serve as a resource for establishing PD prevention or
intervention trials.
Implementation of virtual visits for clinical research and the establishment of a PD virtual cohort will enable
more people to participate in clinical research by reducing barriers to participation, provide a resource to other
Udall centers engaged in LRRK2 research, and serve as a model for future studies, both observational and
interventional.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10242057
- **Project number:** 5P50NS108676-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT G. HOLLOWAY
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $221,378
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10242057

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10242057, Research Project 2 will use remote assessments to engage large, novel populations of participants with Parkinson disease (5P50NS108676-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10242057. Licensed CC0.

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