Washington D.C., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation® (GAP) proudly announced the 2024 National Citizen Scientist Awards® elevated honorees at their 2025 GAP-Net Site Optimization Conference in Miami, Florida. GAP’s Citizen Scientist Awards (CSA) celebrate the contributions of individuals who make a difference by volunteering in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases.
This year’s award recipients include, a former nurse who advocates for research and education internationally, a Reverend who felt a new calling to volunteer after diagnosis, an environmentalist whose career built a natural foundation to be a clinical trial volunteer, a devoted husband who became an author documenting his new journey caring for his wife as they navigate her diagnosis, a non-profit fundraiser who bravely shares her life with early-onset Parkinson’s on the national stage, and a community organization that is educating Latinos on the importance of research.
“We are grateful for our study participants whose invaluable contributions are essential to informing CNS science and developing therapies and cures for neurodegenerative diseases. Citizen Scientists’ leadership in our field allows us to accelerate the research so desperately needed to find an end to these cruel diseases,” said John Dwyer, President of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation. “Thank you to Mary, Cynthia, John, Ron, Allie, and the Progreso Latino team. Your efforts to improve the lives of people in your community are of immeasurable importance and very much appreciated.”
Recruiting and retaining clinical trial participants continues to be a major obstacle to developing new therapies and treatments for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. More than 90 percent of clinical trials are delayed due to a lack of participants[1].
Each year, GAP’s network of research sites (GAP-Net) nominates exceptional, local clinical trial volunteers who share their stories to inspire their communities to learn more and get involved in research. This year, over 140 clinical trial volunteers across North America were submitted for elevated recognition. The 2024 elevated Citizen Scientist honorees are representatives for all the nominees who make invaluable contributions to the wide body of clinical research being done around the world, and they reflect the different roles that people can play in finding better therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
GAP supports more than 100 research sites in North America and worldwide who are part of the GAP-Net clinical research network, a network of independent, private, and academic clinical research sites that are committed to accelerating research to benefit people living with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The GAP-Net research sites who nominated their deserving volunteers for the 2024 Citizen Scientist Awards will be celebrated locally along with other volunteers who participate in clinical research.
The 2024 Citizen Scientist Award Elevated Recipients
Mary Sullivan — Chesterfield, MO –Citizen Scientist Champion Award®
- Mary has been a champion for clinical trial participation by recruiting others to volunteer and working to share information about important research being conducted at Clinical Research Professionals, a research site in her community. As a nurse, Mary gives back to the community through education, even partnering with the Nigerian Nurses Association to educate people in Africa. When Mary’s memory began to decline, she was compelled to share her story to inspire others. Mary is a dedicated member of three online support groups, which have helped her as she lives alone and is learning to overcome and manage new challenges to help with everyday living. Furthermore, she continues her work with the Nigerian Nurses Association, virtually presenting on the topic of dementia/Alzheimer’s to educate medical students and nurses from Nigeria. Her grit and determination are unmatched.
Reverand Dr. Cynthia Huling Hummel — Rochester, NY– Citizen Scientist Catalyst Award®
- For more than 15 years, Reverand Dr. Cynthia Huling Hummel has traveled over 300 miles round trip to participate in clinical trials at University of Rochester AD-CARE and she recognizes the need for more volunteers in clinical research. Cynthia has served as a panelist and keynote speaker at many major workshops and meetings, and received the NYS Governor Award for exemplary service, appointed a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and was selected as an exhibitor in the National Gallery in Stockholm Sweden. She has co-authored multiple publications in peer reviewed scientific journals on study participation, study rights, and the impact of dementia. She is a shining example of what a motivated research advocate can achieve.
John Peters — Peterborough, Ontario, CA– Citizen Scientist Cornerstone Award®
- John, who is living with Alzheimer’s and volunteers at Kawartha Centre, was compelled to take his research background and apply it to his current situation as his passion for science has motivated him. John enjoyed a career in land management, ensuring the protection of the environment. Since he retired, he has continued researching the environment with breeding bird surveys and marsh monitoring. He remains active with his hobbies including curling, skiing, being a certified wine judge, and reading as much as he can. He has always been a man of science and continues that mission on this new journey.
Ronald Hogrefe— Winter Park, FL– Citizen Scientist Collaborator Award®
- Ron is an unwavering, dedicated, brave, compassionate, and determined man. A true advocate of clinical trial research and also for his wife Cheryl, who participates in studies at Conquest Research. Ron has been a vocal advocate for clinical research trial participation, with an emphasis on its clinical significance in enhancing the future of treatment options made available to others, who are also trying to navigate and seek solutions in this complex health system. He has poignantly shared his and Cheryl’s journey thus far, inviting everyone along to follow his blog that has subsequently become a book, “A Life Lived Through the Eyes of Alzheimer’s.”
Progreso Latino- Providence, RI– Citizen Scientist Cultivator Award®
- Dilenia Cruz and the team at Progreso Latino engage, educate, and empower their community members to learn more about Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease research. As a long-time partner with Butler Hospital’s Memory and Aging Program (MAP), their partnership emerged when MAP was a vendor at an annual health fair hosted by Progreso Latino. This collaboration led to MAP winning a diversity grant through ADNI-3, leading to the Brain Health Room being set up for their seniors often where Dilenia, the community liaison of Progreso Latino, can hold one-on-one discussions with members of the local Latino community about memory or health concerns. Dilenia and the staff at Progreso Latino have been nothing but eager and welcoming to the research community.
Allison “Allie” Signorelli- Arlington, VA– Citizen Scientist Cultivator Award®
- Allie is a non-profit fundraiser and event producer who was diagnosed with young on-set Parkinson’s disease at 47 years old. Since her diagnosis, she has shared her story on national platforms and launched a social media platform of over 62,000 followers to shine a light on living with Parkinson’s where she interviewed public figures like Katie Couric, movement disorder experts, and even members of Congress. Allie was a staunch advocate for the National Plan to End Parkinson’s which is the first-ever federal legislation dedicated to ending Parkinson’s disease.
For more information about the Citizen Scientist Awards® and to see the other honorees, visit: https://globalalzplatform.org/citizen-scientist-awards.
To learn about nearby clinical research studies for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, visit: https://globalalzplatform.org/home/.
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About the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP)
The nonprofit Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation was founded to speed the delivery of Alzheimer’s treatments with a commitment to promoting diversity in clinical research, as well as lowering the cost and improving the efficacy of ADRD clinical trials to ensure that no one is left behind. As part of its mission, GAP supports more than 100 clinical research sites worldwide through study start-up and recruitment activities, promoting diversity in research studies, and giving attention to the citizen scientists who make research possible.
About National Citizen Scientist Awards
The annual Citizen Scientist Awards® are one way that GAP recognizes the time, passion and dedication of the clinical trial participants who are helping to finding a new treatment, prevention or cure for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases through their volunteerism.
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10003583/