University of Cincinnati
04/29/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/29/2024 09:08
Spectrum News: Student-led organization empowers patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Spectrum News: Student-led organization empowers patients with Parkinson's Disease
2 minute readApril 29, 2024Share on facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print StoryLike
Spectrum News recently highlighted the work of Parkinson's Together, a UC student-led nonprofit organization that takes a multidisciplinary approach to meeting the needs of people with Parkinson's disease in the community.
"We're really excited about this, offering this kind of multidisciplinary, support resources and not trying to duplicate the wonderful resources that already exist, but trying to figure out how we can make them work together," said Mallika Desai, Parkinson's Together founder.
The organization began in October 2021 with a core group of students who primarily were studying medicine. But as more students from other areas of study joined, new opportunities for different programs emerged.
"We started volunteering and realized that to make a bigger impact, we needed to think beyond medicine or sitting with a resident," Desai said. "We needed to expand to involve other disciplines."
With this collaborative approach, pre-law undergraduate students can research and educate patients on inequities and their legal rights regarding the link between exposure to pesticides and the development of Parkinson's disease. Pre-medical students are conducting research on topics including how telemedicine and exercise can help manage the disease and improve quality of life.
Engineering students participated in a hackathon this spring to design solutions that optimize patients' living space and routines that have been altered due to the disease. Political science majors can study and increase advocacy to local, state and federal government officials promoting policies that improve the lives of patients with Parkinson's.
As the group continues to grow in Cincinnati, there are plans in motion to expand to chapters at universities across the country, starting with a chapter that has opened at Miami University.
Watch the Spectrum News story.
Featured photo at top of Mallika Desai. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.
Related Stories
1
UC's Ohio Innocence Project helps earn freedom for Cleveland man after more than 14 years in prison
May 4, 2021
UC's Ohio Innocence Project helped earn the freedom of Michael Sutton, one of two Cleveland men convicted in 2006 of the shooting of two people and the attempted shooting of a Cleveland police officer when both suspects were 17 years old.
2
SELF: 6 things you should know about exercise and the COVID-19 vaccines
May 4, 2021
Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the UC College of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, was one of the sources cited in an article published by SELF on six things to know about exercise and COVID-19 vaccines.
3
Vote in the 2021 Staff Senate election
May 4, 2021
The University of Cincinnati Staff Senate serves as an advisory body to the president and university administration and provides an equitable representative voice for university staff.