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Celebrating 50 years of hope 9 The path of research is a step on the pathway of hope Since 1987 I have been linked to the Neurological Foundation. I was the second individual to be awarded the V J Chapman Fellowship in 1987, which now has been granted to over 25 clinicians and scientists. When I received the Chapman Fellowship, I had expected my career to develop as a clinical neurologist, but instead took a step on the path of research which has led me to where I am today. When I first started out as a neurologist, I had every intention of pursuing a career as a clinical neurologist. The Chapman Fellowship not only allowed me to develop professionally as a clinician, but it also allowed me to expand my horizons and experience what was happening internationally in the area of movement disorders. Travelling and collaborating with international programmes and facilities is a key part of being a researcher and sharing ideas; it is a key concept and belief the Neurological Foundation still upholds to this day. I was pleased to be invited to join the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and to have a chance to give back something to the Foundation. It was a rewarding experience throughout. Being on the SAC is an opportunity to see the whole range of excellent neuroscience being carried out in New Zealand Dr Barry Snow is a leading neurologist specialising in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. He qualified from the Auckland Medical School in 1981 and spent his first year as a junior doctor at Rotorua Hospital. In 1988 Dr Snow left New Zealand for Canada to undertake his Neurological Foundation V J Chapman Fellowship. Dr Snow carried out research into Parkinson’s disease and related disorders while at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, which started him in his career as a clinician-researcher Movement Disorder specialist. In 1995 Dr Snow returned to New Zealand to join the Department of Neurology at Auckland Hospital before being appointed to the position of Clinical Director of Neurology in 1999. In 2011 he was promoted to Medical Director of Adult Health Services at the Auckland District Health Board. Dr Snow joined the Scientific Advisory Committee at the Neurological Foundation in 1997, and he was Chair from 2000 to 2010. Dr Snow joined the Council for the Neurological Foundation in 2001 and has been the Council Chair from 2017, retiring just this past year in 2020. and to meet and mix with New Zealand’s top neuroscientists. It is reassuring to know our funds are carefully granted to the best projects and the best people. The Foundation has grown into a large organisation involved in some way with all New Zealand neuroscientists and their projects. It is a wonderful organisation as it has a simple agenda: promote awareness and research into neurological diseases. The Chapman Fellowship allowed me to pursue a career I did not know I even wanted. I was able to care for patients with neurological disorders and conduct research into the cause and cures for their conditions. The Neurological Foundation has shaped not only my career but me as an individual, and I will always be grateful for the opportunities and encouragement it has offered me. I hope, that in turn, I have been able to give back to the community that offered me so much when I first started out. That my time as a member and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and Chair of the Council has been able to support those who are pursuing a career of research and inspire those still figuring out exactly where their careers will take them. If I could offer one piece of advice for budding clinicians, scientists and researchers it would be to never turn down an opportunity.