The Marfan Foundation is proud to announce that it is awarding $675,000 to seven physicians/scientists as part of its 2020 Research Grant program. This brings the total amount currently being funded — including the second year of two-year grants awarded last year and other research projects — to $1.4 million. The new grants, which are all two-year commitments, are one fellowship award, one early investigator award, one clinical research award, and four faculty awards.
The projects being funded this year address issues that affect cardiovascular mechanisms in Marfan syndrome and related conditions, one in structural function in VEDS, and one in orthopedics for Marfan.
In addition to the newly awarded research grants, the Foundation provided another $725,000 his year in research support for the Aortic Valve Sparing Operative Outcomes Study, the Marfan and Related Conditions International Patient Registry with Backpack Health, as well as funding for 20 researchers who were awarded multi-year grants in the past two years.
“The grants we funded this year reflect the Foundation’s commitment to research that supports investigating new mechanisms for drug therapy intervention in hopes to eliminate aortic enlargement, dissection and the need for surgery,” said Dr. Josephine Grima, chief science officer, The Marfan Foundation. “With the inclusion of this year’s grants, we are now funding 27 research studies. Research is the hope that fuels our community and we are gratified by the number of researchers who are passionate about advancing the field for the benefit of those living with these Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, VEDS, and other genetic aortic conditions.”
Here are the studies that were awarded 2020 research grants from The Marfan Foundation.Faculty Grants – $100,000Sacha Jensen, PhD, James Cook UniversityMechanisms determining Marfan syndrome severity Giulio Pompilio, MD, PhD, FESC, University of MilanStudy of EMMPRIN as a possible novel therapeutic target for thoracic aortic aneurysms in Marfan syndrome David Shreiber, PhD, Rutgers University- New BrunswickThe structure-function effects of specific collagen-III mutations in vEDS Jessica Wagenseil, DSc, Washington UniversityTargeting elastic fiber degradation in thoracic aortic aneurysms Clinical Research Grant = $100,000Michael Samaan, PhD, University of KentuckyHip Joint Function and Health in Patients with Marfan Syndrome Early Investigator Grant – $75,000Anna Cantalupo, PhD,Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiA new druggable epigenetic pathway in Marfan Syndrome Victor A. McKusick Fellowship Grant – $100,000Yanming Li, PhD, Baylor College of MedicineScRNA-seq Reveals Crosstalk Between SMC-Like Cells and Macrophages in Aortic Tissues from Marfan Syndrome Patients
More details about these projects are here.
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The Marfan Foundation is a nonprofit organization that saves lives and improves the quality of life of individuals with genetic aortic and vascular conditions including Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, and Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. Our vision is a world in which everyone with genetic aortic and vascular conditions can live their best life.