Editor’s note. The following was sent to us today by the President of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, USA. Founded in 1996 by the Lejeune family to carry on the work of Professor Jérôme Lejeune, the Foundation is committed to research, care, and advocacy for those with Down syndrome and other genetic intellectual disabilities. The Foundation is the world’s oldest and largest private funder of research into Down syndrome and other genetic intellectual disabilities.
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As President of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, USA, I am proud to inform you that the United States Foundation has, for the first time, awarded grants to 3 researchers working in the area of genetic intellectual disability. The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation was established in Paris France in 1996 to continue the legacy of Dr. Jérôme Lejeune, the geneticist who discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome. The U.S. branch of the Foundation was established in late 2011.
Recipients of these first grants represent a cross-section of the funding and research interests of the Foundation.
Kathleen Gardiner, a researcher at the University of Colorado, Denver, has received funding to organize a workshop on cognition in individuals with Down syndrome. The event will draw researchers from a variety of specialties and focus on the molecular, cellular and behavioral features of the disability and the promise of therapeutics to improve cognitive function.
Two other researchers were given awards to investigate intellectual disability linked to X chromosome abnormalities.
Emily Brookes, a researcher at Boston Children’’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, will generate a model of brain development using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from the skin cells of individuals with X-linintellectual disability. This model will be used to investigate the neurological and molecular mechanisms behind cognition that she hopes will then lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic avenues.
Aurore Curie, a research fellow at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, obtained high quality structural images and functional MRI images during performance of cognitive tasks in three carefully characterized groups of patients. Dr. Curie will apply the newest technical advances in neuroimaging analysis to better understand X-linked intellectual deficiency. She hopes that her research will guide the development of specific training, education and vocational support for these populations and suggest novel treatment modalities that will lead to improved cognitive function.
The Jéérôôme Lejeune Foundation awards grants in two funding cycles each year. During this first funding cycle of 2012 the Foundation received 59 requests from researchers across the world. 20 projects were selected by the Foundation’’s U.S. and French Scientific Advisory Boards and received combined awards of just over $800,000. The Foundation favors unique projects that it believes will significantly advance knowledge leading to therapeutic interventions intended to improve the lives of those living with genetic intellectual disabilities.
The Jerome Lejeune Foundation, USA depends on the generosity of its benefactors to achieve its mission of research, care, and advocacy for those with Down syndrome and other genetic intellectual disabilities.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Bradford,
President