Grants at a Glance — Summer 2010
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ALS - Appel
MDA awarded a research grant totaling $330,000 to Stanley H. Appel, chair of the department of neurology at the Methodist Neurological Institute (MNI) in Houston, to study the protective effects of a specific class of immune system cells in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Benatar
Michael Benatar, associate professor of neurology and epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta, received an MDA grant totaling $525,000 to continue research into the early stage of FALS — familial, or inherited, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) — prior to symptom onset.
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ALS - Freibaum
MDA awarded $180,000 to research scientist Brian Freibaum at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., for research into the mechanism by which toxic TDP43 protein leads to the development and progression of some forms of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Hobert
MDA awarded $374,511 to Oliver Hobert, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University, New York, to study the function of the TDP43 gene, mutations in which can cause ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Jacob
Research scientist Dena Jacob at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, received an MDA grant totaling $180,000 for research into decreasing cells' resistance to therapeutic medications in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).
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ALS - Julien
MDA awarded a grant totaling $345,000 to Jean-Pierre Julien, professor at Laval University, Canada, for research into genetic variations in a protein called chromogranin B (CHGB) that has been shown to modify disease risk and hasten onset in a type of familial ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Offen
Daniel Offen, head of the neurology laboratory at Tel-Aviv University, Israel, received an MDA grant totaling $359,700 for research into a combined cell and gene therapy approach for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Rossoll
MDA awarded $358,653 to Wilfried Rossoll, assistant professor at Emory University in Atlanta, for research into the effects on nerve cells, or "motor neurons," of toxic TDP43 protein, implicated in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Sockanathan
MDA awarded a grant totaling $347,832 to Shanthini Sockanathan, associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, for research into the molecular causes of nerve cell, or motor neuron, degeneration in diseases including ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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ALS - Zarnescu
MDA awarded $375,000 to Daniela Zarnescu, assistant professor in neuroscience at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., to conduct gene and drug discovery research in a drosophila fruit fly model that carries a mutation in the TDP43 gene associated with a genetic form of human ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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CCD - Muntoni
MDA awarded a grant totaling $375,000 to Francesco Muntoni, professor of pediatric neurology at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom, for research into the molecular mechanisms underlying central core disease (CCD) and multiminicore myopathies. Muntoni and Michael Duchen, professor of physiology, and cell and developmental biology, also at UCL, will work together, focusing on the mechanisms that lead to muscle weakness in the two diseases.
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CMS - Francis
Michael Francis, associate professor in the department of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, received an MDA grant totaling $330,000 for research into effects on the connection between nerve and muscle known as the neuromuscular junction, or NMJ, in congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS).
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CMT - Jordanova
MDA awarded a grant totaling $282,630 to Albena Jordanova, professor in the department of genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for research into the molecular causes of, and potential drug targets for, a recently discovered form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease known as dominant intermediate CMT type C (DI-CMTC).
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DMD/BMD - Arany
MDA awarded $352,188 to Zolt Arany, assistant professor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Harvard Medical School in Boston, for research into the role of skeletal muscle metabolism in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Bertoni
MDA awarded $408,915 to Carmen Bertoni, assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, to continue research into DNA repair strategies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Calos
Michele Calos, professor in the department of genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., received a $200,000 MDA research grant to develop a new stem cell-based therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Cornelison
MDA awarded a grant totaling $160,000 to Dawn Cornelison, assistant professor in the division of biology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, for research into the role of a protein called syndecan-4 in muscle tissue repair after damage.
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DMD/BMD - Forbes
MDA awarded $179,327 to scientific researcher Sean Forbes at the University of Florida in Gainesville for research into impaired blood flow to muscles lacking the dystrophin protein in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Jasmin
MDA awarded Professor Bernard Jasmin, vice-dean of research at the University of Ottawa in Canada, a grant totaling $360,000 to study the impact of small molecules called "exercise mimetics" in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Kumar
MDA awarded associate professor Ashok Kumar at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Ky., a grant totaling $349,206 for continued study of the molecular mechanisms that underlie disease onset and progression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Kunkel
MDA awarded a grant totaling $375,000 to Louis Kunkel, director of the program in genomics at Children's Hospital in Boston, for research into compounds already approved for human use that may alter disease progression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Lynch
MDA awarded $375,000 to Gordon Lynch, professor of physiology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, for research into strategies aimed at improving muscle function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Nalbantoglu
Josephine Nalbantoglu, associate professor in the department of neurology and neurosurgery at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, received an MDA grant totaling $313,170 for research into increasing levels of the muscle protein utrophin as a therapeutic strategy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Narkar
Vihang Narkar, assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, was awarded $302,326 to study the potential therapeutic value of increasing the overall amount of a specific type of muscle called "aerobic muscle" in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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DMD/BMD - Wilton
MDA awarded a research grant totaling $368,100 to professor Steve Wilton at the University of Western Australia in Perth, for continued research into a strategy called "exon skipping," which bypasses mutations in the dystrophin gene responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
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EDMD - Shin
MDA awarded $180,000 to Ji-Yeon Shin, a research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, for continued study of the molecular mechanisms that underlie Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD).
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EDMD - Worman
MDA awarded a grant totaling $310,893 to Howard Worman, professor of medicine and pathology, and cell biology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, for research into treatments that target the underlying cellular disease process responsible for heart damage, or "cardiomyopathy," in people with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD).
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IBM - Kimonis
Virginia Kimonis, chief of the division of genetics and metabolism at the University of California, Irvine, received an MDA grant totaling $372,000 to conduct experiments designed to uncover the underlying molecular cause of inclusion-body myopathy associated with Paget's disease of Bone and/or frontotemporal dementia (IBMPFD).
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LGMD - Cripps
MDA awarded a grant totaling $339,561 to Richard Cripps, professor and chair of biology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, for research into the role of the Trim32 gene in type 2H limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD).
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LGMD - Han
Renzhi Han, assistant professor of physiology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., received an MDA grant totaling $405,000 to study mutations in the dysferlin gene that lead to development of several types of muscle diseases known as "dysferlinopothies," including type 2B limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD).
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MMD - Chen
MDA awarded $330,000 to professor of medicine Ju Chen at the University of California, San Diego, for research into the role of a protein called Cypher in skeletal muscle function and disease.
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MMD — Morales
Fernando Morales, head of the genetic section at the Health Research Institute of the University of Costa Rica, has received an MDA grant totaling $366,210 over three years. The funding will help support Morales’ research to define the molecular underpinnings of type 1 myotonic dystrophy (MMD1, or DM1) and factors that modify the course of this highly variable, multisystem disease.
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Mito. Myopathy - Pallanck
MDA awarded $312,699 to Leo Pallanck, associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, for research into elimination of flawed cell machinery that is the underlying cause of mitochondrial myopathy.
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Mito. Myopathy - Wong
MDA awarded $411,000 to Lee-Jun Wong, professor in the department of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, for research designed to produce a one-step diagnosis procedure for complex mitochondrial myopathies.
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PP - Beam
MDA awarded a grant totaling $303,438 to Kurt Beam, professor in the department of physiology and biophysics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, for research into a process called excitation-contraction coupling responsible for the contraction of muscle cells necessary for voluntary movement and breathing.
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SBMA - La Spada
MDA awarded Albert La Spada, chief of the division of genetics in the department of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, $330,000 to study what causes nerve cells called motor neurons to die in spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) and other neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
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SMA - Manfredi
MDA awarded a grant totaling $79,277 to John Manfredi, chief scientific officer at Sfida BioLogic Inc., in Salt Lake City, Utah, for continued research into new drug compounds that promote the growth and function of motor neurons (nerve cells), and that may have potential as therapeutics for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
In July 2010, the MDA Board of Directors funded 38 research projects targeting more than a dozen neuromuscular diseases. These projects are in addition to some 330 grants currently
funded by MDA.
For an overview of grants awarded by MDA in July 2010, see:
- MDA Awards More than $14 Million in Research Grants
- MDA Awards Nearly $3.5 Million in New ALS Grants
- MDA’s national press release
For a list of the more than 330 grants currently being funded by MDA, see this PDF.
Grants at a Glance
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