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September 24, Woburn, Massachusetts
The
Spastic Paraplegia Foundation (SPF) has announced the recipients
of its 2006 Research Grants. The SPF issued $420,070 in grants
for four research projects focused on discovering the cures
for Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia and Primary Lateral
sclerosis. The recipients are as follows:
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John K. Fink, M.D. |
Jeffrey D. Macklis, M.D., D.HST |
Paola Arlotta, Ph.D. |
Nina Tang Sherwood, Ph.D. |
Kendal S. Broadie, Ph.D |
John K. Fink, M.D.
Dr. Fink, Director of the Neurogenetic
Disorders Clinic and Professor of Neurology at the
University of Michigan was awarded a $120,000 two-year grant
for his proposal entitled “Developing treatment for childhood
onset hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG3A HSP)”.
Dr. Fink is recognized as the world’s leading expert on HSP.
He has written at least twenty published
medical journal articles specifically on HSP that describe the huge
advances that he has made in understanding the causes of HSP.
He was also a major force in organizing two international
conferences—one on HSP and one on PLS.
“Just five years ago Dr. Fink discovered that mutations in the
SPG3A/Atlastin gene can cause HSP. Now he is searching for
treatments. The speed at which he has gone from gene
discovery to beginning the search for treatment is just
incredible,” said Mark Weber, Chairman of the SPF’s Research
Grant Committee.
Jeffrey D. Macklis, M.D., D.HST and Paola Arlotta,
Ph.D.
Drs. Macklis and Arolotta were awarded a one year grant
totaling $125,000 for their proposal entitled “Molecular
Controls over the Development, Connections, and Survival of
Upper Motor Neurons”. Their 2006 proposal enlarges the scope
of their 2005 proposal that the SPF funded last year.
Dr. Jeffrey Macklis is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery,
and the Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, as well
as the Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard Medical
School Center for Nervous System Repair. He has written
approximately 85 articles regarding his work in major
scientific journals. Paola Arlotta, Ph.D. is an Assistant
Professor at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the
Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative
Medicine. Dr. Arlotta has published more than seven papers
in major scientific journals.
"The research of these investigators and their team has led to
numerous discoveries in the use of stem cells to grow upper
motor neurons," Mark exclaims. "In fact, some of their work
has shown that the scientific dogma that upper motor neurons
could not be regenerated is false. Thus, their work could
one day lead to the ability to re-grow or repair motor
neurons that have been damaged or destroyed by PLS, HSP,
other neurological disorders and even spinal cord injury."
Nina Tang Sherwood, Ph.D.
Dr. Sherwood is an Assistant Research
Professor at Duke University, was awarded a $120,000 two-year
grant for her proposal "Understanding the ameliorative effects
of temperature in fruit fly models of AD-HSP”.
Dr. Sherwood has developed a fruit fly model of HSP caused by
mutations in its Spastin gene, and
discovered much about the role of the Spastin gene product in
fruit flies. She has published seven scientific journal
articles and first published research about her HSP work in
2004.
“I’m thrilled that we are funding Dr. Sherwood's work — she's
a young, brilliant researcher. By funding her early in her
career, I hope she continues to focus on HSP research for
years to come,” said Mark.
Kendal S. Broadie, Ph.D.
Dr. Broadie was awarded a one year
extension of the grant that he received last year from SPF for
his proposal entitled "Mechanistic interactions among
hereditary spastic paraplegia genes". The award for the
second year of the grant was for $57,070.
Dr. Broadie is a Professor of Neurobiology at Vanderbilt
University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has
written over 80 articles published in scientific journals,
including a major work on the role of the
Spastin protein in the neurons of Drosophila (fruit flies).
HSP and PLS are closely related disorders caused by the
degeneration of "upper motor neurons".
Some 20,000 people across the U.S. are estimated to be
affected by HSP. PLS is thought to affect 1-2 thousand
individuals, although it is difficult to estimate since it can
be difficult to differentiate from HSP and ALS in its early
stages. Both
disorders cause progressive spasticity and weakness in the legs,
causing patients to use canes, crutches or eventually
wheelchairs. PLS also affects the arms and hands and generally causes
speech difficulties. Very rare forms of HSP can
cause mental retardation, deafness, diseases of the retina,
dementia, ataxia (lack of muscle control), and epilepsy.
The SPF is a national, volunteer-driven,
non-profit organization dedicated to finding the cures for upper motor neuron
disorders and providing information and support services to
people affected by them.
For more information, please contact SPF at
information@sp-foundation.org or
visit the website at
http://www.sp-foundation.org.
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