Columbia researchers receive $3 million to combat genetic killer of infants ...( ion and its people it was evident that...),Health

Most recently, Columbia University president Lee Bollinger and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) executive vice president and dean Gerald Fischbach, M.D. announced the creation of a Neuroscience Institute which will bring together researchers and clinicians to expedite discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside.

"This a remarkable time in the field of neuroscience and SMA research," said Dr. Fischbach. "Given all that is already known about SMA scientifically, the expanded research that this funding supports will greatly advance the probability of a treatment in the near term. The funding provided by the Foundation will enable us to provide critical support to rapidly advance our research and clinical care to patients with SMA. "

Key Columbia faculty members who have been funded by the SMA Foundation or are involved in SMA research include:

Umrao Monani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology in the Center of Neurobiology and Behavior at CUMC is responsible for identifying drug targets. He was instrumental in the development of a key mouse model of SMA, which is essential to genetic studies of the disease. His research addresses the question of why a decreased amount of Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) protein leads to SMA and provides an opportunity to test the drugs that Dr. Stockwell identifies.

Brent Stockwell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University leads drug discovery efforts. He focuses on chemical genetics, drug discovery and is screening tens of thousands of existing compounds to identify drugs that will stimulate the creation of SMN protein, which is deficient in SMA patients.

Christopher E. Henderson, Ph.D., a neurobiologist specializing in central nervous system development and neuronal degeneration wil
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Contact: Craig LeMoult
cel2113@columbia.edu
212-305-0820
Columbia University Medical Center
4-Mar-2005