Nadir Alam is currently a high school senior at Cranbrook Schools in Michigan.  Growing up he would spend his summers at his grandparents' house lazing the day away binging TV and playing on his iPad. Right behind him, however, sat his grandfather, suffering from Parkinson's Disease and unable to even get out of bed without the help of a caretaker. As he watched his grandfather go about his life, he wondered why he couldn't take any medicine to make it go away. He learned from his mother that there was a treatment, but no cure, and this medicine was very hard for his family to get as immigrants with relatively little income. This went on for years until his grandfather passed away. With the passing of his grandfather, Nadir was motivated to study treatments for Parkinson's Disease and ended up working in a research lab at Wayne State University. As he studied medicinal treatments, he soon realized many of these were not accessible to all, and strove to find an easy and accessible way to combat Parkinson's and all neurodegenerative diseases. This led to him delving into exercise research.

As a former Cross Country runner and recipient of the sport's Coach's Award, the impact of running has had a lasting effect on his life. From the exercise routines he built to the personal growth he underwent, running helped shape him into the person he has become today and he wants other kids to experience this for themselves.