NET-PD is sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), one of the research institutes of the Federal government's National Institutes of Health, and is coordinated by scientists at the University of Rochester (NY) and the Medical University of South Carolina. The NINDS has been responsible for conducting and supporting research on neurological disease for more than 50 years.

Most NINDS-funded research takes place in public universities, medical schools, and hospitals. The NET-PD trials will be conducted at more than 50 centers in the U.S. and Canada.