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St.
Louis, Oct. 4, 2004 — Two St. Louis organizations have
teamed up to create the Hope Center for Neurological
Disorders, a unique collaboration dedicated to basic
science research on a broad spectrum of nervous system
conditions. A reception to celebrate the new initiative
will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the
Center for Advanced Medicine, Farrell Conference Room
1.
By
pooling the two institutions' intellectual and financial
resources, Washington University School of Medicine
in St. Louis and ALS Hope – The Chris Hobler/James
Maritz Foundation will generate funds and conduct basic
research to advance the understanding and treatment
of neurological disorders.
“Washington
University is deeply appreciative of community partnerships
like this,” says Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington
University. “Forward-thinking endeavors such as the
Hope Center are key to fostering scientific advancement.
We are proud of our tradition of academic leadership
and are honored to join forces with one of this community's
finest charitable organizations.”
The
center should accelerate research in multiple areas
of neurology, including investigations on neurodegenerative
diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple
sclerosis.
Neurodegenerative
diseases is one disease-focused area of research in
BioMed 21, the School of Medicine's strategic initiative
to rapidly bring advances in basic science to the patient's
bedside.
“We
are very excited about this opportunity to work with
ALS Hope and the Hobler family,” says Larry J. Shapiro,
M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs
and dean of the School of Medicine. “We have always
recognized the importance of collaboration to the advancement
of medical science, and this initiative embodies that
concept by enhancing such relationships both within
the university and between our faculty and the St. Louis
community.”
ALS
Hope has committed $1 million for the initial phase
of the project and will launch a multi-million-dollar
fundraising campaign to garner further support for the
center. Expenditures for new equipment will be as much
as $3 million.
The
center will be housed at the Department of Neurology
under the scientific directorship of Mark P. Goldberg,
M.D., professor of neurology and of anatomy and neurobiology.
Center members will include faculty in neurology and
from several other departments at the School of Medicine.
In
addition to facilitating research within the University,
the center will host an annual national summit, gathering
top neurological researchers in the country to review
research progress, present new findings and outline
new avenues for research. In another unique aspect,
the center will seek to promote collaborations beyond
Washington University. Research grants made by the center
may go beyond the center's own members to researchers
at other institutions around the world.
“I
believe encouraging researchers to share ideas and discoveries
with others working on similar disorders will lead to
the answers we're looking for,” says ALS Hope founder
Chris Hobler. “Because of its long tradition in collaborative
research and its reputation for scientific excellence,
Washington University's Department of Neurology is the
perfect place for this type of endeavor.”
The
strength of the Hope Center lies in its approach to
investigating neurological disease, according to David
M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones
Professor and head of the Department of Neurology. Its
focus on nurturing collaboration recognizes and capitalizes
on the existence of mechanisms and concepts shared by
many neurological disorders. Though every condition
has unique characteristics and challenges, knowledge
gained from studying different disorders, Holtzman says,
will provide unexpected insights into each other. For
example, though marked by different symptoms, many neurodegenerative
diseases are characterized by a progressive accumulation
of certain proteins that leads to deterioration of nerve
cells.
“If
we can understand some of the common mechanisms between
diseases, we are likely to develop new insights and
novel treatments for neurological conditions in general,”
says Holtzman, who also is the Charlotte and Paul Hagemann
Professor of Neurology, professor of molecular biology
and pharmacology and a neurologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish
Hospital. “By coordinating and centralizing our resources,
we hope to organize the school's basic science efforts
in the neurobiology of disease from the ground up.”
One
way the team plans to accomplish this is by establishing
four core areas: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience,
Neuroimaging, Disease Models and Education/Outreach.
These cores will include designated, centralized laboratory
space such as a gene therapy research hub, which will
expedite research by merging related resources, technologies
and expertise.
Washington
University's neurology department ranks second nationally
in NIH research funding, but it can be difficult and
time-consuming to obtain funding for large-scale, integrative
projects. According to Holtzman, the availability of
locally raised funds through collaboration with ALS
Hope will allow researchers to undertake initiatives
otherwise hindered by traditional fundraising processes.
“It
can take a long time to get an innovative idea from
concept to reality under the current funding system,”
he explains. “I'm very excited that this project will
allow us to tap into our local resources, and I am very
optimistic that this will get new treatments from the
bench to the bedside as quickly as possible.”
ALS
Hope was founded in 2002 by Chris Hobler, who was diagnosed
with ALS the previous year, and his family. The organizations'
mission is to find a cure for ALS by funding progressive
research and in the process create a new methodology
for funding, researching and developing treatments for
ALS and other neurological disorders.
Washington
University School of Medicine's full-time and volunteer
faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish
and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine
is one of the leading medical research, teaching and
patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked
second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St.
Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is
linked to BJC HealthCare.
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