Wings for Parkinson’s has succeeded in areas of advocacy, research, knowledge, care and prevention, with some highlights listed below:

 

Parkinson’s symposium
On 19th February 2024, the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and the Menzies Institute for Medical Research hosted a highly successful Parkinson’s symposium, which drew more than 600 attendees—200 in person and an additional 400 online. The event marked the launch of the Tasmania Parkinson’s Project (TPP), co-led by Professor Jane Alty and Professor Michele Callisaya. The TPP The TPP aims to develop a comprehensive registry of individuals with PD across Australia, offering them opportunities to learn more about the condition and participate in relevant research. The TPP continues to expand with more than 4,000 current participants. The symposium featured a keynote address by Professor Glenda Halliday, the 2022 New South Wales Scientist of the Year, who shared the latest research developments in PD. 

 

National Parkinson’s Action Plan
In addition to hosting the collaborative symposium and launching the TPP, Wings for Parkinson’s played a key role in supporting the National Parkinson’s Action Plan Taskforce and the National Parkinson’s Alliance (NPA). The initial work of NPA has been the promotion, advocacy, and development of the National Parkinson’s Action Plan. The collaboration and advocacy of the Alliance, culminated in the first National Parkinson’s Summit in Parliament House, Canberra in March 2024 hosted by Senators Bilyk and Askew as co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson’s (PFOP).

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Advocacy

The combined expertise and insights of Wings for Parkinson’s members give an opportunity to advocate for prevention, policy reform, research, education, and the primary healthcare needs of individuals living with PD. A key focus for Wings for Parkinson’s has been advocating for disease prevention, with significant efforts directed towards addressing environmental factors linked to PD. One example of this advocacy the push for a ban on the herbicide Paraquat, exposure to which has been linked to an increased risk of PD. In addition to its prevention efforts, Wings for Parkinson’s advocates for additional Clinical Nurse Consultants in the south of the state, who provide crucial support for people with PD.

 

Research

Wings for Parkinson’s has played a crucial role in supporting the establishment of the Tasmanian Parkinson’s Project (TPP), providing $4,500 in resources. In addition, Wings for Parkinson’s has been instrumental in promoting the Human Intelligent Movement Analysis Centre (HIMAC) which was funded through a $512K infrastructure grant awarded to co-lead Professor Jane Alty (Wicking Centre) and Dr Rebecca St George (Psychological Science). HIMAC’s cutting-edge technology allows for precise analysis of human movement, enabling the early detection of changes that may indicate PD or other neurological disorders, and the launch attracted wide media attention. Members of Wings for Parkinson’s have also supported a national MRFF grant application to implement ParkinsonNet to the Australian context.  The application led by Professor Michele Callisaya, led to a NHMRC grant for $2.8M and is currently being rolled out in Tasmania and the Barwon area in Victoria.  This model aims to increase access to high quality evidence-based multi-disciplinary care for people living with Parkinson’s.

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Knowledge
Wings for Parkinson’s supported the development of the Parkinson’s Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), co-lead by Professors Jane Alty and Michele Callisaya. Designed as an accessible educational resource, the Parkinson’s MOOC aims to support people with PD, their caregivers, medical and allied health professionals, and the broader community. In 12 weeks following it’s launch the MOOC enrolled just on 25,000 participants from 160 countries/territories. In 2024-5, Wings for Parkinson’s collaborated with Associate Professor Jade Cartwright to organise and deliver a successful two integrated professional learning programs titled Parkinson’s: Bringing the Team Together – Learning With, From, and About Each Other. The programs brought together community members with lived experience, their primary healthcare providers, and nursing, medical, and allied health students. The event highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing the challenges of PD. A key member Professor Jan Radford, co-authored a paper advocating for the early prescription and administration of Levodopa following PD diagnosis.

 

Care

Improving accessibility to care for Tasmanians living with PD is a key goal of Wings for Parkinson’s. As part of a Churchill Fellowship, Phil Ladlow (neurological physiotherapist) visited 15 sites across Europe, Canada, and North America and in 2024, Phil applied this knowledge to establish Advanced Rehabilitation Tasmania, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation centre featuring a LEXO robotic-assisted gait trainer (RAGT). This facility provides cutting-edge movement therapy and is the first of its kind in Tasmania and one of only a few in Australia.

Michelle Mortensen completed training in Lee Silverman Voice Training BIG (LSVT BIG), an evidence-based method to improve motor function in individuals with Parkinson’s. Michelle works in conjunction certified LSVT LOUD therapist, Jennifer Stacey to deliver this allied health service in both northern and southern regions of Tasmania.

 

Prevention

In addition to their advocacy for a ban on the use of Paraquat in Tasmania, Wings for Parkinson’s have supported research into the causes of PD from both a biomedical and population perspective, with research studies currently conducted at Menzies Institute for Medical Research.

 

Other achievements
Several members of Wings for Parkinson’s have received academic promotions at the University of Tasmania.

 

Future direction of Wings for Parkinson’s

During 2025 Wings for Parkinson’s was heavily involved in the Action Plan Development. In 2026 the first Wings for Parkinson’s meeting was a presentation by Mr. Paul Creech from the Australian Digital Health Agency.

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