Scientist wins 2025 Jay Van Andel Award for research in Parkinson’s
Professor's work focuses on interaction of genetics, environment
The Van Andel Institute (VAI) — founded nearly three decades ago to advance biomedical research and science education — is awarding its 2025 Jay Van Andel Award to a University of Pittsburgh professor for his work on environmental factors in Parkinson’s disease.
This year’s award will be presented to J. Timothy Greenamyre, MD, PhD, a neurologist and researcher who also serves as the director of the Pittsburgh Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases.
As part of his research, Greenamyre has demonstrated how genetics and the environment interact in Parkinson’s disease. His work suggests that exposure to certain pesticides and other environmental toxins may increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s — potentially by straining mitochondria, the cell’s energy producers, and activating LRRK2 and other genes associated with the disease.
“Dr. Greenamyre is a trailblazer in Parkinson’s research,” Darren Moore, PhD, chair of VAI’s department of neurodegenerative science and cochair of the 2025 symposium, said in a VAI press release.
The Jay Van Andel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Parkinson’s Disease Research was created in 2012 to honor Jay Van Andel, the founder of VAI, who lived with Parkinson’s for 10 years before he died in 2004. It’s given each year to researchers who’ve contributed to understanding Parkinson’s and how to best treat it.
Greenamyre will receive the award at the annual Grand Challenges in Parkinson’s Disease symposium, taking place Sept. 9-10 at VAI. As part of the award, the researcher will deliver the keynote lecture on the first day of the symposium.
Symposium in September will highlight advances in Parkinson’s research
Over the years, Greenamyre has received many awards for his work investigating Parkinson’s risk factors. One was the 2022 Robert A. Pritzker Award for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research, given by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Greenamyre also was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2015 and has been listed on the “Best Doctors in America” list since the mid-1990s.
Moore said Greenamyre “embodies the very best of the scientific and clinical worlds.”
“We look forward to recognizing and celebrating his exemplary achievements with the 2025 Jay Van Andel Award,” Moore said.
The Grand Challenges symposium — which will be held in parallel with Rallying to the Challenge, a meeting for people living with Parkinson’s cohosted with Cure Parkinson’s — brings together researchers, doctors, and advocates from around the world to share the latest updates in disease research and treatment.
[Dr. Greenamyre] embodies the very best of the scientific and clinical worlds. … We look forward to recognizing and celebrating his exemplary achievements with the 2025 Jay Van Andel Award.
This year’s symposium will focus on how the endolysosomal pathway is involved in Parkinson’s. This pathway is the cell’s recycling system that breaks down and clears waste. In Parkinson’s, problems with the endolysosomal pathway can lead to the buildup of toxic proteins that damage brain cells and cause symptoms.
Besides Greenamyre’s keynote lecture, there will be talks from 20 other speakers, a research poster session, and discussions about advocacy. Registration is now open for the Grand Challenges in Parkinson’s Disease symposium and the Rallying to the Challenge meeting.
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