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Posted by: The Sumaira Foundation in News & Announcements
December 22, 2023 — The Sumaira Foundation is pleased to announce the first round of awardees of TSF’s 2023 research grants. Congratulations to all the researchers who will each be awarded with up to $25,000 to initiate their projects!
Principle Investigator | Sanja Gluscevic, MD, PhD
Institution | Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Neurology Clinic, University of Montenegro
Aim | To provide a comprehensive understanding of NMOSD and MOGAD in Montenegro, with a focus on clinical aspects, pain, and the impact on the community.
Award Amount | $5,000 (This grant was made possible with support from Terry & Greg Clark of The Dorchester Foundation)
Principle Investigators | Álvaro Cobo-Calvo, MD, PhD and Juan Antonio García León
Institutions | Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (CEMCAT), Vall d’Hebron and University of Malaga (Spain)
Aim | To establish a new in vitro human model comprising an all-human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC)-derived oligodendrocytes co-cultured with neurons that could serve as the bases to reveal new MOGAD-specific mechanisms, a previous essential step before developing novel therapeutic strategies.
Award Amount | $25,000
Principle Investigator | Edgar Carnero Contentti, MD MSc
Institution | Hospital Alemán (Argentina)
Aim | To review how adult patients living with MOGAD should be managed and treated in Latin America in order to improve long-term outcomes and to optimize resources in these populations.
Award Amount | $5,000 (This grant was made possible with support from Terry & Greg Clark of The Dorchester Foundation)
Principle Investigators | Joachim Havla, MD and Jonathan A. Gernert, MD
Institution | Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology, University Hospital LMU Munich (Germany)
Aim I | To conduct a cross-sectional comparison of the number of HRF in eyes without a history of optic neuritis between patients with NMOSD, MOGAD and other demyelinating diseases.
Aim II | To conduct a longitudinal analysis of the number of HRF between patients with NMOSD, MOGAD and other demyelinating diseases considering clinical and imaging follow-up data.
Award Amount | $25,000
Principle Investigator | Ahmed Obeidat, MD, PhD
Institution | Medical College of Wisconsin (United States)
Aim I | To develop and apply a scoring tool to predict subsequent relapses after an initial attack in people with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease.
Aim II | To compare serum levels of neurofilament light (NfL), a marker of neuroaxonal damage, cross-sectionally, between patients falling into the high score category (potentially relapsing) versus those falling into the lower score category (potentially monophasic).
Award Amount | $25,000
Principle Investigators | Ricardo Alonso, MD, Lorna Galleguillos, MD and Carlos Navas, MD
Institutions | Hospital Ramos Mejias (Argentina), Clínica Alemana de Santiago (Chile) and Clínica Colombia (Colombia)
Aim |
Award Amount | $25,000
Principle Investigator | Scott Zamvil, MD, PhD
Institution | University of California, San Francisco (United States)
Aim I | To evaluate the role of thymic MOG expression in development of the pathogenic T-cell repertoire in MOG-targeted CNS autoimmunity
Aim II | To breed our new MOGfl/fl mice with Foxn1-cre mice to generate mice deficient in thymic expression of MOG (Foxn1-cre-MOGfl/fl) and to confirm selective thymic deficiency.
Award Amount | $25,000
