2026 MDS Awardees

He serves on the Editorial Board of npj Parkinson's Disease, the Journal of Clinical Movement Disorders, previously Movement Disorders (2007-2010 & 2015-2021) and Movement Disorders Clinical Practice (2013-2021), and a member of Faculty Opinions. He has a clinical and research interest in Parkinson's disease and movement disorders with over 250 peer-reviewed publications and an h-index of 64. 

Dr. Fung has been a member of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society since 1995 and has served in numerous roles within the Society. He served as Chair of the Congress Scientific Program Committee (2013–2015), Co-Chair of the International Congress Local Organizing Committee in Sydney (2013), and as a member of the MDS International Executive Committee (2011–2015), International Congress Oversight Committee (2012–2015), and Education Committee (2011–2015). He previously served on the Web Editorial Board (2011–2013) and the Bylaws Committee (2009–2013). Within the Asian & Oceanian Section (AOS), he served as Secretary-Elect (2009–2011) and Secretary (2011–2013) and has served on the AOS Congress Oversight (2012–2014), AOS Executive (2007–2008), and AOS Education (2007–2011) Committees. He has served as faculty for MDS International Congresses, MDS-AOS Congresses, and Educational Outreach Courses, and has been a member of the MDS Dystonia and Basic Movement Disorder Course Task Forces and the MSA Study Group. He previously served on the Editorial Board of Movement Disorders (2007–2010, 2015) and Movement Disorders Clinical Practice (2013–present). Most notably, Dr. Fung served as President of MDS from 2023 to 2025. 

Born into a low-income family in rural Ethiopia as the third child of her parents, Kibra pursued her education with determination and became an agricultural professional. She subsequently served as a government employee, working with communities in both urban and rural areas. Her commitment to community service continued after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 31, while preparing to establish her own consultancy firm. 

At the time of her diagnosis, Parkinson’s disease was poorly understood in Ethiopia, medical services were scarce, and misconceptions and stigma were widespread. Kibra experienced these challenges personally, including tremor, stiffness, discrimination, and difficulty accessing appropriate care. She sought medical consultation in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United States before returning to Ethiopia. 

Rather than allowing the diagnosis to define her future, Kibra transformed her experience into a lifelong commitment to serving others. In 2011, she founded PPSO-E together with two friends and two patients, creating a platform to address the medical, social, economic, and psychological challenges faced by people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families. 

Under her leadership, PPSO-E has built its work around awareness raising, capacity building, and care and support. Its activities include public education, media engagement, training of healthcare professionals, patient and caregiver education, home-based care, physiotherapy and speech therapy, medical and medication support, mobility assistance, and community outreach, including in rural and underserved areas. 

Kibra’s advocacy has also contributed to broader health-system and policy change. Among her significant achievements are contributing to the inclusion of Parkinson’s disease medicines in Ethiopia’s list of essential medicines and preparing and presenting a policy brief advocating for the integration of Parkinson’s disease into Ethiopia’s primary healthcare guidelines. 

Her leadership has mobilized professional volunteers, strengthened the coping capacity of patients and caregivers, increased social participation among people living with Parkinson’s disease, and helped expand public and professional understanding of the condition. Through sustained awareness and capacity-building efforts, PPSO-E has also contributed to improved recognition of Parkinson’s disease and addressing misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. 

PPSO-E currently provides direct support to more than 1,300 people living with Parkinson’s disease and 745 caregivers. Its work includes regular home-care services for bedridden patients and practical interventions such as patient-friendly toilet facilities, demonstrating Kibra’s commitment to addressing both the medical and everyday realities of living with Parkinson’s disease. 

Her contribution has received national recognition. She was named an AWiB Woman of Excellence in 2018 and received the Ethiopian Begosew Award as Kind Person of the Year in 2022 for her contribution to improving the lives of people living with Parkinson’s disease and their families. 

Kibra Kebede’s public-service journey is defined by her ability to transform personal adversity into lasting social impact. From a rural Ethiopian background and a career in public service, she has built a national platform that gives people living with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers greater access to information, care, support, advocacy, and dignity. 

Her enduring contribution is not only the organization she founded, but the greater visibility, recognition, and inclusion she has helped create for people living with Parkinson’s disease in Ethiopia. 

“I am stronger than Parkinson’s disease.”  Kibra Kebede 

He also served as the Director of Office of the Medical Policy and Communication, Seoul National University. Prof. Jeon graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine, and completed his neurology residency both at Seoul National University Hospital (1983- 1987) and at the University of Minnesota (1987-1991), and then had a Movement Disorder fellowship under Prof. Stanley Fahn at Columbia University (1991-1993). He also studied basic neurosciences under Prof. Robert Burke as a H. Houston Merritt Fellow (1997-1998) at Columbia University. 

Prof. Jeon has extensively studied genetics in Korean patients with parkinsonism and is currently interested in medical and surgical treatment of advanced parkinsonism. He has published over 400 peer reviewed articles and wrote three books for patients and families with Parkinson’s disease and ataxia. 

His research focuses on the understanding of molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease and dystonia by the identification of disease-causing genetic variants and the characterization of the involved molecular pathways. His work led to the discovery of genetic defects underlying several forms of hereditary parkinsonism, dystonia, and other more rare movement disorders.  

He published more than 230 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has an H-index of 68. His work has been cited more than 20,000 times so far. He was co-Editor in chief of Parkinsonism & Related Disorders (2018-2023).