2015 Awards Gala: Remembering Bright Minds

For our first Awards Gala we wanted to honor the best and brightest and cognition research today, but also pay tribute to great minds who are no longer with us.

Dr. Edgin receiving the Dr. David R. Cox Rising Star award.

We awarded Dr. Jamie Edgin the Cox Rising Star Award. This award is named in honor of David R. Cox, M.D., Ph.D. a world-renowned geneticist and inaugural member of the LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board. Some of Dr. Cox’s significant professional accomplishments included:

• making instrumental contributions to the Human Genome Project
• serving as a professor of genetics and pediatrics at Stanford and co-director of the Stanford Genome Center
• participating in several international and national councils and commissions; and
• elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Since Cox was always curious, innovative and a pioneer, the Cox Rising Star Award recognizes distinction in Down syndrome research by early career researchers.

Dr. Mobley receiving the Cohen Researcher of Distinction Award, named in honor of William I. Cohen, MD.

Dr. William Mobley received the Cohen Researcher of Distinction Award, named in honor of William I. Cohen, MD, a great friend, colleague, and very active and highly supportive inaugural member of LuMind RDS Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Bill Cohen was widely recognized for his deep compassion and contributions to the medical care of children with Down syndrome, and his unwavering commitment to, and support of, the entire Down syndrome community. His energy, joy for all of life, and enthusiastic excitement for the potential of the most rigorous new evidence-based biomedical research for creating new opportunities for all people with Down syndrome has been inspiring to researchers, physicians, as well as all in the Down syndrome community and beyond.

This award recognizes a major impact on accelerating the pace of Down syndrome research through open access, participation and collaboration.

See photos from the awards gala.

Down Syndrome Cognition Research: THE Most Important Opportunity

by Sarah Wernikoff

Sarah Wernikoff was honored with the Luminary Award at our inaugural recognition gala, the Sky’s the Limit. Sarah chaired the LuMind Foundation Board from 2012-2014 and served as a member of the board for seven years. She presented the following remarks on why LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation and Down syndrome cognition research are important to her. Thank you, Sarah, for your continued support and inspiration!

I feel very honored to be acknowledged in this way – particularly at the same event as Dr. Mobley — the original visionary behind this field of research, and Dr. Edgin. It’s only due to their genius, creativity and perseverance that we are all here today. I also want to thank the Whites who had the vision to make this organization possible, and who have done so much for this very important cause over the last decade.  And last, I can’t leave out Carolyn Cronin. The breath of fresh air that is carrying us into the future. Carolyn, thank you for your tireless commitment.

It’s ironic for me to be here in this way with Dr. Mobley, and Patty White, as they are the very two people who I first had contact with 11 years ago soon after my daughter Tate was born in October of 2003.

It’s still hard for me to talk about those early days, …but needless to say learning Tate had Ds was a complete shock to our family. We knew next to nothing about Ds and didn’t know what to expect – all we knew then was that our lives were going to be very different than what we had planned and envisioned.

It was between the shock, and I’ll admit the tears, of those initial few days that my husband Dan and I started thinking about research. What was going on the field of research to help us help assure our daughter would have the very best opportunities in life as possible?  We quickly learned about all of the community, educational, and advocacy resources that had made enormous strides in the past decade or two for people with Ds, and felt very fortunate to benefit from those tremendous efforts and successes……but what about research?

At the time, in 2003, if you went online to search Ds cognition research finding information was like finding a needle in a haystack. So after finding virtually nothing online, Dan and I began to network through Stanford, and Bill — I’m sure you don’t remember this, but I eventually tracked down your contact information and started hounding you (one might even say stalking you, but I will leave those details in the past).  But it was you who put me in touch with Patty who at the time was in the very beginning stages of founding this organization with Jim and the Kafkers in Boston.

So…that’s a long-winded way to tell you all how I got involved, but I tell it for two reasons.

The first is to paint the picture of how far this research has come in the last decade.  Today, in large part due to the work of those in this room, this same Google search results in pages and pages and pages of information and research breakthroughs. It was the goal of the honorees in this room to be a catalyst to cognition research, collaborate with the best and brightest and bring new researchers into the field – and they have done this in an incredibly short amount of time, and on an absolute shoestring budget.

The other reason I share the story is explain how innate and intuitive it was for Dan and I to know that cognition research was THE most important opportunity for our daughter.

When people ask me about my volunteer work and what LuMind is all about, I tell them it supports cognition research for people with Down syndrome. This usually results in blank stares, long pauses and a sense of confusion. Its’ not an easy thing to understand, like cancer research for example.  So I always try to describe it in more familiar terms, like glasses for someone who is visually impaired, or cochlear implants for someone who is hearing impaired.

We are not trying to change anyone — but just turn the dial and move the meter a bit on abilities. The ability to remember. How can you learn if you can’t remember? The ability and speed people with Ds process information. The ability to communicate, and ability to articulate thoughts and feelings.  It’s hard to put it into words, and in some ways you need to know someone with Ds well to understand it, but even small improvements in these areas will have a huge impact. The small improvements will impact the work they do at school, the richness of their friendships, the type of job they will have one day.  It will have a very direct impact on each child’s overall independence as adults, and even more importantly their risk of developing early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Dan and I are convinced the research, whether results are subtle or significant, will have an enormous impact on Tate’s future. Yes, the years of weekly PT, OT, speech, socials skills therapy, and of course educational support we all give our kids is fundamental to their success, but cognition research, in my book has equal footing — and the potential to be a game changer to the futures of all those with Ds.

So it feels a little awkward to be here receiving an award for this work that is obviously very self-serving. It truly has been a labor of love.

And in case you were wondering, I thought I’d close by sharing that we were actually right in 2003 that our lives were going to be different. But what we didn’t know then, was what an overwhelmingly positive different it would be. Tate is the most fun, most loving and sincerely kind person we know. She is the nucleus of our family and it has been an absolute privilege to be her parents. Our goal, as with all of our kids, is for her to live her life to her greatest potential, and I thank all of you in this room for helping us do that.

The Sky’s the Limit for Down Syndrome Research!

Almost 100 people enjoyed the events during our “Sky’s the Limit” Awards weekend – a VIP reception, a research presentation by Dr. Harpold, Dr. Mobley, and Dr. Edgin, and of course, the inaugural Awards Gala on Saturday night.

Please enjoy our staff’s casual and candid photos of the Awards gala. We will have more photos and stories to share throughout the week. Thank you to everyone who participated, planned, or supported the event.

A special thank you to photographer Pavel Verbovski for capturing all the wonderful moments from the event. For those wishing to view and purchase professional images from the Gala, please visit the photographer’s website.

There’s still time to show your support with a donation in honor or one of our honorees – Dr. William Mobley, Dr. Jamie Edgin, Sarah Wernikoff, and Jim and Patty White. Select “Sky’s the Limit” when you make a donation and support our inaugural honorees.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Recognizing the Pioneers in Down Syndrome Research – 2015 Awards Gala

We are so excited to be hosting our very first awards gala – The Sky’s the Limit – in Seattle on May 2, 2015.

We selected the Sky’s the Limit theme to represent the hope we feel. Thanks to your support over these 11 years, research that was once too complex to even consider is now experiencing tremendous breakthroughs. There are more discoveries, more exceptional, young researchers interested in pursuing careers in Down syndrome research, and interest from pharmaceutical firms to develop drug therapies.

Our inaugural event will honor five exceptional people who helped advance Down syndrome research. On Saturday evening, we will be presenting the following awards:

• Founders’ Award – Presented to Jim White and Patty O’Brien White on behalf of all those who were a part of the creation of the organization. This is a legacy award to be presented in 2016 and beyond to those who make an impact to the advancement of research.
• Dr. David Cox Rising Star Award – Presented to Dr. Jamie Edgin, University of Arizona
• Dr. William Cohen Researcher of Distinction Award – Presented to Dr. William Mobley, University of California, San Diego
• Luminary Award – Presented to Sarah Wernikoff, former Chairperson, LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation

About our Honorees:

Jamie Edgin, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Sonoran UCEDD at the University of Arizona. Her research centers on studies of sleep and learning in Down syndrome, and she has been instrumental in devising new methods to measure cognition in those with Ds. Dr. Edgin serves on a number of community boards, including her service on the State of Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.

Dr. William Mobley, MD, PhD, is Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosciences at University of California, San Diego. He also serves as executive director of UCSD’s Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment. His research emphasis on the neurobiology of Down syndrome has brought new insights into Down syndrome, including possible therapies to improve cognition and unraveling the connections between Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.

Sarah Wernikoff served as LuMind Board Chair from 2012-2014 and was a member of the LuMind board for 7 years. Her professional background includes over 15 years experience in ecommerce general business management, marketing strategy and planning, merchandising, and management consulting. Sarah has three children including an 11 year old daughter who has Down syndrome.

Jim White and Patty Ann O’Brien White are accepting this award on behalf of all of the people who were a part of the creation of the organization eleven years ago. Jim is a Managing Director with Sutter Hill Ventures and Patty is a marketing consultant at GSVlabs. The Whites have four children, including a daughter with Down syndrome.

If you would like to support the event, we are accepting donations in honor of the award recipients or for the event. Please learn more on our event page.

A big thank you to Confluence Health for their sponsorship of the Gala.

Q&A With Dr. William Mobley

Did you attend our webinar in January and ask a question that wasn’t answered? Dr. William Mobley has the answers!

Dr. Mobley from the University of California, San Diego’s Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment and Dr. Jamie Edgin from the University of Arizona’s Down Syndrome Research Group spoke at our webinar on January 29, 2015. Thank you, Dr. Mobley and Dr. Edgin – and all the people who attended the webinar. To listen to a copy, please click here.

What is the number of copies of APP with typical Trisomy 21?

The answer is 3.  This is due to the presence of an extra copy of the entire 21st chromosome, which harbors the gene for APP and as many as 500 other genes.

Would inhibiting DYRK1A be beneficial?

Quite possibly.  What is not clear at present is exactly what changes in the Ds brain are due to the extra copy of the gene for this protein. What we do know is that it is an enzyme that acts on a number of neuronal functions and that an increase in the amount of this protein is likely to cause changes that impact normal function. A number of labs are working on this problem, including ours [UC San Diego Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment], and more data should be coming forward in the next few years. An ongoing trial of a non-specific inhibitor of this protein may provide important insights into what might be accomplished by creating treatments that would reduce its levels or effects.

What ages could benefit from the therapies that were discussed?

A good question.  Our studies and others focused on increased inhibition might well lead to treatments that would be given to children.

Our studies on APP target age-related changes in neurons and logically would be administered to adults.  But since the problems that an increased number of the APP gene causes are already detected in young people, we envision that such treatments may ultimately also be given to children.

The vaccine that targets a product of APP that I discussed will be first be administered to adults but then might well used in young adults and possibly children.

Can you tell us more about endosomal enlargement – timing, APP dose-dependence and tests?

Endosomal enlargement is indeed present in the very young brain and is a direct consequence of increased levels of APP. It is almost certainly seen in all people who have the full Trisomy 21.  The test for this would therefore be the test which shows whether or not someone is a full or partial trisomy. More sophisticated tests aimed at defining the number of APP genes present in the genome would also be useful, but I would suggest that the simply karyotype test should suffice for almost everyone with Down syndrome.

 

 

Sweet Dreams for Sleep and Cognition Researchers

Our congratulations to Dr. Jamie Edgin, a LuMind Foundation supported researcher, upon her award of funding for infant sleep to begin the “Arizona Sweet Dreams Study.” Edgin and her co-principal investigator Caron Clark will be exploring the link between infants’ early sleep quality and later cognitive development.

Dr. Edgin’s LuMind-funded sleep assessment studies have shown that sleep quality in toddlers and school-age children with Down syndrome is strongly correlated with language development.

Congratulations Jamie and Caron!

Read more on the University of Arizona website.