About Us

​We are a group of people, affected directly or indirectly by Parkinson’s:

  • We deal with the effects of the condition on a daily basis.
  • The lives of our loved ones are heavily influenced by our varying needs.

That’s why we are interested in all possibilities to stop or slow down the progression of the condition and – moreover – we will never give up hope, that research will come up with a cure for Parkinson’s.

We meet in Dundee but our committee members come from far and wide:  Tayside, Fife, Stirling and Perth and Kinross.  Membership is open to anyone interested in the area of research related to Parkinson’s. With a world class laboratory at Dundee University and the Dundee-Edinburgh Parkinson’s Research Initiative we have first-hand access to the researchers and their results. We organise regular events and our lab tours are always a great success. This allows us to inform our members quickly about new developments. And we are able to support clinical trials by distributing the information to our members.

There are also RIGs across the UK: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/research/local-parkinsons-research-groups and DRIG has close links to other RIGs, especially the Edinburgh and North of Scotland Parkinsons Research Interest Groups: ERIG

DRIG Steering Group

DRIG has a steering group responsible for the overall program and direction of the group. This includes helping to organise activities and events more locally. The Group has close links to the Parkinsons UK local Area Development Managers (ADM), Volunteer Coordinators (VC), and the newly formed Local Development Teams (LDT).

The Steering Group:

  • meets quarterly in Dundee at the MRC PPUU, or at the Improvement Academy at Ninewells Hospital.
  • comprises of people with Parkinson’s (PwP) or family members and research scientists, who, together, will decide, amend or add plans for the group for each year. Each Group member will be recognised as a volunteer with the Parkinson’s UK Research Team The tenure is ideally for a minimum of 2 years but of course dependent on the interest of each member.
  • meetings will be open for new people to attend if interested in joining the group.

The People, the Steering Group

Chairperson: Brendan Hawdon

Secretary: Jo Goodburn


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events Co-ordinator: Andy Howden

Members:

Mark Coxe

Stewart Davidson

Paul Ford

Joy Milne

David & Aileen Rigg

Bill & Helen Robertson

Lindsay Roy

Gillian Sharpe

Marc  Van Grieken

Janet Kerr, Web & Facebook administrator 

Chloe Macmillan, PUK

Liz Nash, PUK

Esther Sammler, Dundee Uni

Andy Howden, Dundee Uni

Supporters:

Dario Alessi

Will Farnaby

Miratul Muqit, Dundee Uni

Christine & Pierre Descouts

John Minhinick

Ron Page

Wilma Page

Werner Remmele