LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation Awards $1.415 Million in Grants to Advance Down Syndrome Cognition Research
Marlborough, Massachusetts (PRWEB) October 07, 2015 -- LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation (formerly the Down Syndrome and Treatment Foundation – DSRTF and Research Down Syndrome) announces the award of $1,415,000 in funding for six new research grants, propelling Down syndrome cognition research. The latest recipients of LuMind RDS Foundation grant funding are researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, University of Arizona, Stanford University and Palo Alto Veterans Research Institute/VA Palo Alto Health Care System.
The LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation Research Grants for 2015-2016 significantly build upon the LuMind RDS-supported research that has led to dramatic breakthroughs in defining specific mechanisms responsible for cognitive impairment in Down syndrome, as well as the identification and pursuit of nine new potential drug targets for improving cognitive function, learning, memory and speech, involving the developmental intellectual disability, and overcoming the additional cognitive decline and neurodegeneration associated with the earlier onset Alzheimer’s disease and aging in individuals with Down syndrome.
"The new research grants supporting these outstanding investigators and their critically important lines of research will significantly accelerate further progress in discovery, translational, and clinical research for new therapies to improve cognitive function for children and adults with Down syndrome,” said Dr. Michael Harpold, LuMind RDS Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer and Chair of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board.
“The significant level of funding provided by these new research grants makes it possible for these principal investigators to further pursue new discoveries and ideas to advance their research from the lab bench to clinical trials and create meaningful new opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome,” Dr. Harpold added.
LuMind RDS Foundation, a national nonprofit organization founded in 2004, focuses exclusively on identifying and funding critical biomedical cognition research for children and adults with Down syndrome. The Foundation’s mission is to accelerate the development of treatments that will allow people with Down syndrome to:
• participate more successfully in school and work
• lead more active and independent lives, and
• prevent additional earlier cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.
"With the earlier development of Alzheimer's disease in the majority of individuals with Down syndrome, recent and ongoing research progress underscores the hope of providing preventive treatments in those with Down syndrome, and that could benefit everyone,” added Dr. Harpold. “LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation’s Research Program and Grants, including proactive and strategic engagement with biopharmaceutical companies, have been critical in addressing key strategic priorities and accelerating the unprecedented advances and progress leading to the initiation of landmark clinical trials.”
“LuMind RDS recognizes that without the generous financial support of the Foundation’s donors, these new advances, grants, and initiatives would not be possible, and we continue to be extremely grateful to all for their support,” said Carolyn Cronin, President and CEO of LuMind Research Down Syndrome.
The new 2015-2016 LuMind RDS Foundation Research Grants include:
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - receiving a $227,500 Research Center Grant for “A Down Syndrome Center for Fundamental Research-Cognition.”
Emory University School of Medicine – receiving $275,000 Research Center Grant for “The Down Syndrome Cognition Project (DSCP)” with co-Principal investigators from nine additional institutions (Johns Hopkins University, Kennedy Krieger Institute, University of Arizona, University of California Davis/MIND Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Oregon Health and Science University, Children's National Medical Center Washington DC, UPenn/ Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Waisman Center/University of Wisconsin).
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine - receiving $325,000 Research Center Grant for “Defining the genes, mechanisms and treatments for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative causes of cognitive dysfunction in Down syndrome.”
University of Arizona – receiving a $250,000 Innovation Research Grant for “Brain Development, Sleep and Learning in Down Syndrome.”
Stanford University – receiving a $197,500 Innovation Research Grant for “Mechanisms Underlying the Roles of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in the Learning Disability of Down Syndrome.”
Palo Alto Veterans Research Institute/VA Palo Alto Health Care System – receiving a $140,000 Innovation Research Pilot Grant for “Improving Adrenergic Signaling for the Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunction in Down Syndrome.”
For individual Research Grant Project Summaries with more detailed information, please visit our web site.
About LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation
LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation, formerly the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation (DSRTF) and Research Down Syndrome, is a national non-profit organization headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, aimed at accelerating the development of treatments to significantly improve cognition, including memory, learning and speech, for individuals with Down syndrome. LuMind RDS Foundation is the leading source of private funding supporting Down syndrome cognition research at major research centers, including Johns Hopkins Medicine, Stanford University, University of California, San Diego, and University of Arizona. Since its founding in 2004, LuMind RDS Foundation has committed more than $13 million to fund results-driven research programs that will benefit children and adults with Down syndrome, and has been instrumental in the initiation of clinical trials now under way.
Ellen Oliver, Marketing Manager, LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation, http://www.lumindfoundation.org, +1 (508) 630-2179, [email protected]
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