{"id":447,"date":"2015-09-10T09:39:34","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T16:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/stem-cell-researcher-justin-ichida-receives-300000-muscular-dystrophy-association-grant\/"},"modified":"2023-11-19T12:06:54","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T20:06:54","slug":"stem-cell-researcher-justin-ichida-receives-300000-muscular-dystrophy-association-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keck.usc.edu\/news\/stem-cell-researcher-justin-ichida-receives-300000-muscular-dystrophy-association-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Stem cell researcher Justin Ichida receives $300,000 Muscular Dystrophy Association grant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n \n Press Release<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Stem cell researcher Justin Ichida receives $300,000 Muscular Dystrophy Association grant<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
\n Claire Orphan and Cristy Lytal<\/span>\n \n September 10, 2015<\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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Motor neurons derived from a patient with ALS (Image courtesy of the Ichida Lab)<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Ten percent of all patients with two neurodegenerative diseases \u2014 frontotemperal dementia (FTD) and amyolateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease \u2014 possess a mutation in the same gene. Justin Ichida, assistant professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, has received a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) research grant totaling $300,000 over three years to determine how this mutated gene contributes to ALS.
\nTo study this, Ichida\u2019s lab will use \u201ccellular reprogramming\u201d to transform the blood cells of ALS patients with the mutation into motor nerve cells in a Petri dish. Because the mutated gene contains faulty instructions for producing a protein called C9ORF72, these cells are expected to degenerate in the protein\u2019s absence. Ichida hopes to rescue the cells by exposing the cells to a normal level of the protein, and to reveal the mechanism that allows the protein to protect motor nerve cells.
\n\u201cThis work will establish C9ORF72 protein as a key therapeutic target for ALS patients,\u201d said Ichida. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to the Muscular Dystrophy Association for its commitment to helping patients with a wide range of neuromuscular diseases, including ALS.\u201d
\nA leading nonprofit health agency dedicated to saving and improving the lives of people with muscle disease, MDA funds worldwide research to find treatments and cures, provides comprehensive health care services and support to MDA families nationwide, and rallies communities to fight back through advocacy, fundraising and local engagement.
\nMDA awarded a total of $10 million in new research grants to scientists conducting leading-edge discovery for muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases. This round of research grants was approved by MDA\u2019s Board of Directors after analysis by MDA\u2019s Medical and Scientific Advisory Committees, comprised of leading clinicians and scientists, who oversee the peer-reviewed process on a volunteer basis.
\nMDA received 350 grant requests, the most ever in its 65-year history of funding basic, translational and clinical research. It awarded grants to 36 researchers, half new to MDA.
\n\u201cThese new grants are potential game-changers, a signal of our passionate resolve to help kids and adults fighting neuromuscular diseases live longer and grow stronger,\u201d said Valerie Cwik, MDA\u2019s executive vice president and chief medical & scientific officer. \u201cThere\u2019s more new drug discovery underway than ever before, and we\u2019re determined to double the number of promising human clinical trials in the next five years.\u201d
\nMDA\u2019s long-term investment in research has contributed to more than 30 clinical trials in the past year alone for novel drugs and other therapies aimed at treating a broad spectrum of neuromuscular diseases. This year, MDA is funding 250 different research projects in 16 countries.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re supporting the best of the best, thanks to generous sponsors and supporters who champion our work,\u201d Cwik said. \u201cAdvancements can\u2019t come soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20,17],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-research","tag-stem-cell"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStem cell researcher Justin Ichida receives $300,000 Muscular Dystrophy Association grant<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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