Dr. Harold Robertson has spent much of his career at AV俱乐部 working to improve the awareness, prevention, and treatment of Parkinson鈥檚 disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.聽聽
Across his four decades in the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Robertson, professor emeritus in the departments of pharmacology and psychiatry, has been unravelling the role dopamine in particular plays in Parkinson鈥檚 鈥� a disease he now lives with.聽
Dr. Robertson 鈥� or Harry, as he prefers 鈥� received a Parkinson鈥檚 diagnosis in 2015 after years of experiencing mild symptoms even he did not recognize.聽
His family has now established the Harold A. Robertson Award in Parkinson's Research to empower AV俱乐部 graduate students to follow his example of discovering more about the disease and life with Parkinson鈥檚.聽
鈥淚t is important to me that the award be open to graduate students across AV俱乐部, regardless of faculty or department,鈥� said Dr. Robertson, explaining his vision for an award intended to foster collaboration across faculties and departments.聽聽聽聽
His goal is to increase accessibility in all areas of Parkinson鈥檚 research, from finding cures and preventions to improving people鈥檚 quality of life.
Making meaningful contributions
Faramarz Jalili and Emily Thomson, Dal's inaugural recipients of the award, were celebrated during an event hosted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) at the Collaborative Health Education Building on Carleton Campus last month.
Jalili, a Master of Health Administration student, highlighted the impact the award will have on his research鈥檚 potential to improve the lives of people living with Parkinson鈥檚.聽聽
鈥淲inning the Harold A. Robertson Award for Parkinson's research fuels my passion to continue making meaningful contributions to improve the lives of those affected by Parkinson's,鈥� said Jalili.聽聽
Emily Thomson and聽Faramarz Jalili.
Thomson, a student in Pharmacology, emphasized the scarcity of funding opportunities tailored to Parkinson's research.聽聽聽
鈥淭his degenerative disease needs to be researched further because not enough is known about how to effectively diagnose, treat, and prevent it,鈥� said Thomson. 鈥淭his gift is also so important because it can help spark interest in other donors giving to this area of research.鈥澛�
FGS Dean Marty Leonard commended the awardees for their contributions and thanked Dr. Robertson鈥檚 family for their role in emphasizing the critical role philanthropy plays in advancing research.聽
Dr. Marty Leonard.
Powering regional research
Dr. Robertson paraphrased Parkinson's advocate Michael J. Fox鈥檚 Foundation motto, emphasizing the collective effort required to combat the disease.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e here until Parkinsons isn鈥檛,鈥� he said.聽聽聽
鈥淎lthough I can鈥檛 match the over-$1 billion that the Michael J. Fox Foundation has funded for Parkinson鈥檚 research to date, I can do my part,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thank this enthusiastic group of people for coming together today and offering great support for this effort.鈥澛犅�
Dr. Elizabeth Townsend, Dr. Robertson鈥檚 wife and professor emerita at AV俱乐部, stressed the importance of regional support for Parkinson's research.聽
鈥淭he Harold A. Robertson Award is fostering a vibrant research community in Atlantic Canada. Parkinson鈥檚 Canada closed their Atlantic office and it鈥檚 difficult for Parkinson鈥檚 researchers here to get funding,鈥� said Dr. Townsend.聽聽聽
鈥淲e can build a team in this part of Canada鈥攕tarting with our inaugural awardees, Faramarz and Emily.鈥澛� 聽
Left-to-right: Dr. Elizabeth Townsend, Emily Thomson, Dr. Harold Robertson, and Faramarz Jalili.