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September 2010
In this Issue:
- Letter from the President
- MRF's Annual Meeting: The Collaboration Continues
- New Mouse Model to Test Drugs that Treat Demyelination
- MRF Ambassadors Program
- Fred Schwartz Takes the Leap
- Word of the Month: Biomarker
On October 7th, the MRF is hosting a 24-hour online game to garner new ideas for changing the medical research system in ways that will develop treatments and cures for patients faster.
Since the MRF was founded in 2002, we had two clear missions: First, to get the first myelin repair treatment for MS on the market. And second, to develop and demonstrate a model for accelerating medical research that was so superior to the current system that others would imitate it and that it would become the model of choice for all non-profit disease organizations.
I am proud of the progress we have made to date on both fronts and I fully believe that in time we will have the kind of dramatic impact that we foresaw eight years ago.
Our choice to play a game as a means to elicit original and promising ideas for accelerating the pace of medical research and drug discovery is no coincidence. In fact, our success as an organization can be attributed largely to our willingness to reach out to others with the expertise and creativity we needed to advance our science and continue to evolve the ARC model. The game simply gives us access to more individuals and organizations across the value chain that have a stake in solving the problems that are slowing medical research. It also engages a broader base of individuals in a conversation that must be had before we will see change of any kind in the status quo.
I invite you to visit Breakthroughs to Cures today and learn more about the game. Learn how academic scientists, biopharma execs, those who fund research, policy makers, patients and others take on a national health crisis and collaborate to find the most promising and practical solutions to save millions of lives. We're betting that by playing through this fictional scenario, a collective of people who care about getting treatments and cures to patients faster will find the answers.
Learn more and register today and join us on October 7th for game one of Breakthroughs to Cures.
Scott Johnson
President & Founder
Myelin Repair Foundation
Annual Meeting: The Collaboration Continues...
One of the defining characteristics of the Myelin Repair Foundation is that there are four laboratories across the United States that share their research with each other in a collaborative effort to speed up the process of finding a treatment for MS. And, throughout the year, the scientists that work in these labs are constantly communicating in monthly phone conferences and often-daily email and phone conversations with one another about their discoveries. However, the time of year has come again for the MRFs annual meeting where the researchers, their graduate students and their post-docs come together in California and share their work face to face.
 Every September, the MRF management and research team, Scientific Advisory Board, Drug Discovery Advisory Board and the scientists from the Stanford, Cleveland and Chicago labs, meet to discuss the new developments made in discovery biology, potential drug targets, ongoing and further explorative projects in all areas of myelin repair, and the progress toward commercial development of their discoveries. This is one of three face-to-face meetings held each year designed to promote deep collaborations among and between all the MRF scientists, advisors and staff.
“Watching the real time collaboration of these individuals is one of the most rewarding parts of our work,” says MRF President Scott Johnson.
The annual research meeting will include presentations by our scientists, progress reviews, poster sessions, roundtable discussions on certain biological pathways for myelin repair and awards given for their scientific and collaborative work. After the meeting, look for a blog post on what happened and what is up-and-coming for the next year at the MRF.
New Mouse Model to Test Drugs that Treat Demyelination
University of Chicago, MRF-funded Principal Investigator Brian Popko's groundbreaking work was recently published in, Brain: A Journal of Neurology, Dr. Popko's lab developed a DT-A mouse model that can now be used to test the effectiveness of drugs developed to treat demyelination.
To find out more about the relationship between the new DT-A mouse model and multiple sclerosis, read the new blog post on the University of Chicago's blog "Science Life". To watch the video of the mouse model visit our blog.
MRF Ambassadors Program
Since the Myelin Repair Foundation was founded in 2002, our base of supporters and volunteers has grown exponentially. These dedicated people have continually advocated the work of MRF, helping us grow to be the foundation we are today. So now it is time we helped them, you, in return!
Next month, we will be launching a new program called the MRF Ambassadors Program. This program will serve as an aid for new volunteers to begin to hold fundraising events in their communities across the country and foster an online community for already existing volunteers to learn about new fundraising opportunities and ideas.
The program will offer an online toolkit with a series of videos that thoroughly explain the frequently asked questions we discovered our new and old volunteers would like the answers to. By watching these videos, you can learn how to plan an event, what to do during an event, what to do after an event and much more. Along with the videos there will be a compilation of resources you can use to plan your event and contact information for the leaders of the MRF Ambassadors Program, the Ambassadors at Large (ALs).
Currently we have two Ambassadors-at-Large, Bob Gregory of Chicago, IL and Fred Schwartz of Burlington Township, NJ, who head the program. They will be a critical resource to all those who hope to hold a fundraiser, to support the MRF, as they have planned and executed very successful events of their own on an annual basis.
“This is not about doing something outside of your comfort zone. It’s about choosing an activity that is fun or interesting to you and sharing it with friends,” said Bob Gregory. “It can be as big or small as you are comfortable undertaking. It can be a wine tasting, walk, dinner or barbeque, marathon run or holiday party. A lot of people are intimidated about doing fund raising events,” continued Bob. “But if you make it fun and share with your friends and family that the MRF is important to you, most people come right on board.”
If you have ever thought about holding an event for the MRF to raise money for myelin repair research, or you are thinking about it now, please look for the launch of the MRF Ambassadors Program within the next month. We really appreciate the help and support of all of our volunteers and cannot wait to see how many more join our team through our new program.
Please contact us at info@myelinrepair.org if you would like to know more about the program or if you want to know when the toolkit will be available online.
Fred Schwartz Takes the Leap
 It takes a lot of courage to jump out of a plane thousands of feet in the air. It takes even more courage to do it when you go about your daily life in a wheelchair. But on September 17th, that is exactly what Fred Schwartz, MRF Ambassador at Large and dedicated volunteer, did to raise money for the MRF.
After discovering that he would be able to do the dive, Fred setup multiple media outlets to advertise about his fundraiser. He utilized Youtube and even created his own blog to make others aware of his mission and, in doing so, raised a substantial amount of money, with more still coming in after taking the leap. Before the jump, Fred told us that he was excited about the exposure he was receiving for the MRF by doing an interview with the Philadelphia CBS News affiliate, KYW-3 about his fundraiser. And, after the jump, he shared some positive and encouraging feedback with us.
“I was a bit scared and nervous about the jump at first, but it was something I have always wanted to try. When I was diagnosed with MS, I thought skydiving might never be in the cards for me, especially after I was confined to a wheelchair. But when I found out it was possible, I knew I could turn one of my dreams into an event to support the MRF. I hope others see how successful this event was and are inspired to plan their own.”
Fred Schwartz is one of the MRFs Ambassadors at Large and is committed to sharing the message and work of the MRF. We appreciate all of the support and money he raised by putting on his skydiving event. More than 80% of all dollars spent by the MRF go towards myelin repair research, and we know Fred's efforts will put us closer to many of our research goals. So let us know when you plan to take the leap, whether it is out of a plane or into volunteering for the MRF!
Check out the video of Fred skydiving and donate to his fundraiser.
Word of the Month: Biomarkers
A biomarker is the term given to a substance, usually a chemical or molecule, which is used to detect or examine aspects of health. It can also be used as an indicator for the progression or state of a disease and as a way to  mark and isolate an individual cell. A biomarker is a fundamental tool in myelin repair and MS research because it can track the effects of a particular treatment on specific cells like oligodendrocytes or the state of the disease itself.
Today, there are no known biomarkers for myelin repair or MS which makes diagnosing the disease, treating it and developing new treatments all the more difficult. The development of biomarkers in animal models and humans is integral to our advancing a new treatment to the clinic. Watch for more about this initiative in the coming months.
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