Michael J. Fox Made Honorary Doctor By Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet

Advocate and actor Michael J. Fox was made an honorary doctor of medicine at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet in recognition of his work raising funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease as the founder of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF).

Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over 175 million dollars to Parkinson’s drug development research around the world, including at Karolinska Institutet. Michael J. Fox received his honorary doctorate on 5 March from Associate Professor and Dean Clara H. Gumpert representing the Board of Research, which selects the honorary doctors at Karolinska Institutet.

The ceremony took place at the private residence of Mr David E. R. Dangoor Sweden’s Honorary Consul-General in New York. Participating in the ceremony were also Professor Jan Andersson, vice-president of Karolinska Institutet and Professor Johan Ericson representing the research field.

“In its short history, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has gained the admiration and respect of the worldwide research community for its rigorous scientific standards and its commitment to quickly and aggressively funding high-impact therapeutic development,” said Clara H. Gumpert, Dean. “Strongly influenced by Michael’s personal philosophy, his foundation operates with rare dynamism and a constant focus on speeding breakthrough treatments to the world’s five million Parkinson’s patients.”

“I’m grateful to the Board of Research for this tremendous honour,” said Michael J. Fox. “It’s especially meaningful because our Foundation and Karolinska Institutet share a belief in the power of scientific endeavour to create a future that is better for everyone, and a commitment to act strategically — even unconventionally — to help bring that future closer.”