Featured Exhibit
National Parkinson Foundation Award presented to Muhammad Ali, May 18, 1998
On loan from Lonnie Ali.
National Parkinson's Foundation Award
After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, Muhammad Ali’s life focus shifted not only to his health and well-being, but also to a new cause: advocating for treatment and a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is an astonishingly common disease, affecting around 1% of people over the age of 60, globally. While it is treatable, there is currently no cure for the disease.
In March 1997, following many appointments and conversations with Dr. Abraham Lieberman, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center was founded at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. The center began as a single room in a hospital and has since grown into a massive, global clinic that serves over 14,000 patients every year.
In 2002, Muhammad and Lonnie Ali, along with actor Michael J. Fox, appeared in front of a Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress Committee on Appropriations to advocate for increased federal funding for research on Parkinson’s disease.
