TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 7, 2011 — The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded a research grant totaling $347,094 over three years to Francois Berthod, a professor in the department of surgery at Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The newly awarded funds, effective Feb. 1, 2011, will help support Berthod's study of the disease process in sporadic ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
Berthod's is one of 44 new grants reviewed and approved — for a distribution totaling $13.5 million — by MDA's Board of Directors, Dec. 10, 2010, in New York.
"MDA's research program continues to forge ahead, supporting some of the most exciting, cutting-edge research worldwide," said MDA Chairman of the Board R. Rodney Howell. "The projects these new grants support are sure to add a new layer of insight and information atop the strong foundation already formed by more than 50 years of MDA-supported, early-stage research."
About Berthod's research
Berthod, who has a background in tissue engineering, plans to develop a three-dimensional model of the spinal cord using human neural cells obtained from the tissues of ALS patients. The human tissue-engineered spinal cord model (TESC) is expected to mimic the human disease in a laboratory setting, and will permit the testing of combinations of various cell types as a means of determining the conditions that induce or aid motor neuron (nerve cell) death in ALS.
Findings from Berthod's work are expected to improve understanding of the causes and progression of sporadic ALS.
"It's always gratifying to see a new round of grants getting under way," said Valerie Cwik, MDA executive vice president for research and medical director. "With more than 300 MDA-funded investigators working tirelessly in labs around the globe, we're making real gains in the fight against more than 40 different neuromuscular diseases."
To read more about Berthod's research project, visit MDA's online grants showcase at
http://www.mda.org/research/gaag/2010/fall. For up-to-date information on all the latest MDA-funded ALS research projects, read
http://alsn.mda.org/news/eight-new-grants-bolster-mdas-battle-against-als.