Pat Furlong

Founding President & CEO, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

Pat Furlong is the Founding President and CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States solely focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne). Its mission is to improve the treatment, quality of life, and long-term outlook for all individuals affected by Duchenne through research, advocacy, education, and compassion.

Along with leading PPMD, Pat speaks about Duchenne and related topics at conferences each year worldwide and is an active Board member with the National Health Council.  She is also a committee member  of CTTI (Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative) and serves on the data safety monitoring board for both the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network and Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group.

Pat graduated from Mt. St. Joseph College in Cincinnati, Ohio with a BS in Nursing. She attended Graduate School at Ohio State University. While attending Ohio State, Pat spent most of her time in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. After marrying Dr. Tom Furlong, Pat ran the Renal Dialysis Unit and Patient Education Center at Akron General Hospital. With four children, Pat continued her career on a part-time basis, teaching patient education classes at Middletown Regional Hospital.