# January 2026 Data Community Newsletter **URL:** \ **Category:** Community Updates\ **Tags:** monthly-newsletter, communication\ **Created:** [January 13, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/january-2026-data-community-newsletter/1399 "2026-01-13T15:36:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gginnan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/michaeljfox/user_avatar/rcop.michaeljfox.org/gginnan/32/282_2.png) [@gginnan](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/u/gginnan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/january-2026-data-community-newsletter/1399/1 "2026-01-13T15:36:33Z")
Hi everyone, below is the content of the January Data Community Newsletter we sent out via email on January 12th. Let us know if you didn’t receive it, or if you have topics you’d like to see in future newsletters! ## January 2026 Data Community Newsletter ### During 2025… - Our community grew from 156 to **304 members!** - More than **193 discussion threads** were started, generating over **740 replies**. - We held **9 community webinars** on topics including: - Open-source PD software - Data access, analysis, and curation - Networking in scientific careers - Preparing and presenting talks and posters Thank you again for contributing to our efforts to design and build a space that serves the needs of the Parkinson’s research community! We are excited to continue working together in 2026 to expand the community’s reach and support those who are working to find a cure to Parkinson’s. ### Training Grants: Deadline Extended! The [**Mentorship and Training Task Force**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/2025-2026-mentorship-training-task-force/1081) is soliciting proposals to support training and integrated learning initiatives. Two proposals for **$3,750 each** (direct costs) will be awarded. This funding mechanism is intended to support early career stage investigators conducting multidisciplinary research on Parkinson’s disease using MJFF data sets including but not limited to those found [here](https://zenodo.org/records/11167238). To learn more or submit your application, [check out the thread here](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/call-for-proposals-mjff-training-and-integrated-learning-support-grants/1318). Please note: the application deadline has been extended to **March 2nd, 2026**. ### Upcoming Community Programming We have **three webinars** coming up in the next month. Read below to learn more, we hope you can join one (or all) of them! Do you work with **admixed population data** in your research? Are you interested in how genetic admixture shapes the way Parkinson’s is investigated and understood? If so, we hope you join us for our next webinar on **Thursday, January 15th, 12:00-1:00pm (ET)** as [**Dr. Thiago Peixoto Leal**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/u/peixott/summary) (Cleveland Clinic) shares his experiences working with LARGE-PD, and will present new results that have not been shared before, highlighting the importance of including diverse populations in genomic studies. [**Let us know in this thread if you would like to attend, and we’ll share the calendar invite**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/upcoming-webinar-this-thursday-performing-analyses-in-admixed-populations-lessons-from-large-pd/1364/13)! Have you ever wondered about the link between **sports, head trauma, and Parkinson’s**? Do you (or are you interested in) working with Fox Insight data in your Parkinson’s disease research? If so, join us for a community webinar on **Friday, January 23rd, 11am-12pm (ET)**, as we hear from PhD candidate [**Annie Miner**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/u/annaliseminer/summary) and [**Dr. Michael Alosco**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/u/malosco/summary) on their current research at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. If you’d like to attend, [**indicate your interest in this Discourse thread**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/upcoming-webinar-december-associations-between-soccer-participation-tbi-and-pdrd/1311)! Are you investigating **Parkinson’s disease biomarkers** in your research? Are you interested in methods which might allow for earlier diagnoses? Join us on **Tuesday, February 10th, 11am-12pm (ET)**, as we hear about the current research of [**Dr. Amgad Droby**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/u/amgaddroby) (Assistant Professor, Tel Aviv Sourask Medical Center), and learn how neuroimaging techniques are being developed and leveraged to assist in biomarker detection and validation for earlier disease diagnosis and risk stratification. If you’d like to attend, [**let us know in this thread**](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/upcoming-webinar-february-investigation-of-surrogate-imaging-markers-for-early-diagnosis-and-risk-stratification-in-parkinson-s-disease/1397)! ### Resources and Ongoing Conversations - @tiago.azevedo continued [a discussion on PPMI subgroups and participant statuses](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/healthy-people-with-genetic-risks-in-ppmi/1310/3). - @ecebayram, @tiago.azevedo, and @danieltds shared areas of their current work, including [working with underrepresented groups and PD molecular subtypes](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/what-are-you-currently-working-on-let-us-all-know/1293). - @paularp kicked off[a thread to introduce community members who are involved with GP2](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/t/calling-the-gp2-gang-to-introduce-themselves-in-this-post/1370). - @ecebayram will be presenting a poster at the [MDS PAS Congress 2026](https://www.pascongress.org/) in Houston; let us know if you’re going! ### 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: - @carla.abdelnour (Sant Pau Hospital, Institut de Recerca Sant Pau) - @xluo (Arvinas) - @TugceGulD (Koç University, KUTTAM-NDAL) - @Alex_Zirra (Queen Mary University of London) - @YI-WEN (University of Malaya) That’s it for now – thanks for being members of our growing community. Please feel free to [reach out with any questions](mailto:researchcommunity@michaeljfox.org), 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 [https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/](https://rcop.michaeljfox.org/) where they can set up an account.