Participate in Research

If you are interested in enrolling in the study, click HERE, or go to the link at the bottom of this page. Fill out some questions about your health status. If you qualify for participation, we will send you an ear wax collection kit and instructions.

If you are interested in making a donation to support this research, click HERE. 

There is agreement in the field that diagnosis occurs late in the disease process. The inability to identify individuals early in the course of their disease has been a critical barrier to progress in the field.

ParK-9 is expected to be most beneficial to individuals with non-motor symptoms or established risk factors. A positive test may open the door to new therapeutic options and enable the individual to make more informed decisions.

Globally, there are approximately 10 million middle-aged people that already have Parkinson’s disease and don’t yet know it. Research suggests there are things you can do today that have been associated with reduced symptoms over time. 

Our goal is to make Parkinsonism reversible and preventable. 

Once the dogs have tested 200 individuals with and without PD, results will be released. 

A positive test result does NOT mean that you have Parkinsonism or that you are going to get Parkinsonism. A positive test means that two trained dogs identified you as having a "scent" common to individuals with Parkinsonism. This study is a screening test designed to identify people at increased risk of being diagnosed with Parkinsonism; it is not a diagnostic test. 

If you are a healthy control or a positive control (person with a diagnosis of parkinsonism), there will be no costs to participate in this research for the first 250 participants (100 healthy, 100 definite PD, 50 other forms of parkinsonism). If you are uncertain whether or not you my have PD, or if you are being evaluated for alternative forms of parkinsonism, there will be a $250 cost to participate. This covers the cost to run the sample and ensure appropriate quality control measures.

If you are unable afford to make a financial contribution to cover the cost of running your sample, donations from others may be able to cover the costs of your participation. 

All of the data we collect is securely managed and confidential. We will not share any of your information.