Certain populations are disproportionately affected by neurological diseases, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases. A lot of work remains to be done to improve brain health outcomes and promote healthy brain aging across the lifespan, particularly for minoritized, underrepresented populations. Including participants from diverse backgrounds in research helps ensure that the results from studies and clinical trials in the field are valid, generalizable, and representative of all individuals affected by these diseases.

In this episode, Dr. Monica Rivera-Mindt discusses brain health inequities in neurodegenerative diseases, her work using culturally informed community-engaged research methods to improve representation in research studies, important gaps in the literature, lessons learned from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Diversity Task Force that could be applied in Parkinson's disease research, and more. Monica is Professor of Psychology, Latinx studies, and African and African American studies at Fordham University, and she has a joint appointment as Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also a board-certified neuropsychologist.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast. Hear from scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's on different aspects of life with the disease as well as research toward treatment breakthroughs at https://www.michaeljfox.org/podcasts.