Hi everyone, below is the content of the August Data Community Newsletter we sent out via email on August 13th. Let us know if you didn’t receive it, or if you have topics you’d like to see in future newsletters!
August 2026 Data Community Newsletter
MJFF Data Community Webinars
We’re happy to share this collection of webinars hosted by the Data Community of Practice! Coordinated by the Visual Resource Generation Task Force, these sessions explore exciting topics like working with Parkinson’s disease (PD) data, new software toolboxes, career development, and open science practices. We keep this list updated as we hold new sessions, so stay tuned for the next one!
Member Highlight - Dr. Francesca di Cara
Beginning this month, we will be highlighting one member in each DCoP newsletter. We hope this will be an opportunity for you to learn more about your fellow community members, the work they’re doing, and what collaboration opportunities there may be.
This month, we’re delighted to highlight Dr. Francesca di Cara (@dicara), Associate Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Francesca studies peroxisomal metabolism in the intestinal epithelial cells and how its alteration during aging or under environmental stress leads to inflammation and neurodegeneration. Read more here!
Task Forces - Open to New Members!
Our community hosts 4 task forces which were created to both address community needs as well as produce resources for the PD research community at large. These efforts rely on member contribution and we hope you’ll join one (or more) detailed below:
- Mentorship and Training - Led by: @psaffie & @malosco
- Join this group if you are interested in designing materials and mentorship programs aimed at training the next generation of PD scientists.
- Data Modality and Methodology - Led by: @ehutchins & @hirotaka
- If you are interested in developing tools and resources to address data-specific needs, we hope you join this task force!
- Networking and Outreach - Led by: @Vidash & @ecebayram
- Join this task force if you are interested in growing both the quantity and quality of meaningful connections in our community.
- Visual Resource Generation - Led by: @vdardov & @ekaamewu
- From visual aides to monthly webinars, this group is for anyone interested in creating clear and compelling PD resources.
We are always interested in supporting community-led efforts. If there is another task force you are interested in leading or assessing community interest in, please let us know by reaching out to researchcommunity@michaeljfox.org or by completing the programming suggestion form.
Resources and Ongoing Conversations
- Matt shared a summary of community questions about Fox Insight’s Parkinson’s Disease Microbiome (PDMB) data
- Vic described the Therapeutic Target Database, asking community members if they’ve used this resource in their work.
- Kobla started a discussion on genetic research in Africa and how it relates to infectious disease burden and environmental exposure.
- Amgad shared a highlight from AAIC 2026 and described how this could inform the road ahead for Parkinson’s PET tracers.
Welcome New Members!
We encourage you to reach out to our new members and extend a warm welcome to the community! Some of our new members include:
- Gloria Edumaba Graham (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology)
- Robert Peter Biney (University of Cape Coast)
- Isaac Tabiri Henneh (University of Cape Coast)
- Daniel Adjei (Pantang Hospital / University of Ghana Medical School)
- Valentina Caceres (Indiana University School of Medicine)
That’s it for now – thanks for being members of our growing community. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, we look forward to hearing from you! If you know of colleagues or other researchers who would be interested in joining, feel free to direct them to this forum (rcop.michaeljfox.org) where they can set up an account.