DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome will co-host the “Workshop on Cognition in Down Syndrome – Molecular, Cellular and Behavioral Features and the Promise of Pharmacotherapies” April 13-15 in Washington, D.C. The workshop will bring top scientists together to share discoveries and explore collaborations with the aim to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.
Katheleen Gardiner, Ph.D., a professor at the Crnic Institute and the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, is the workshop’s organizer. This is the third international workshop she has organized on Down syndrome and the biology of chromosome 21.
Gardiner received a grant from the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation to organize the workshop and the past two workshops she organized in 2004 and 2007. More than 130 experts from a variety of scientific disciplines are expected to attend the workshop.
“Our invited speakers are not Down syndrome researchers but may be interested in a specific gene on chromosome 21 or in some other type or specific feature of intellectual disability,” Gardiner said. “They may be persuaded to think about doing Down syndrome research and/or provide new ideas, research tools or perspectives to current Down syndrome researchers.”
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder whereby a person has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. It is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder and the leading cause of intellectual disability and developmental delay in the U.S. and in the world.
The workshop, which will be at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182, is being sponsored by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd., the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation, Research Down Syndrome, Association Française pour la Recherche sur la Trisomie 21 and Fresh Eyes Editing.
Co-organizers of the workshop with Gardiner include Jorge Busciglio, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine; John O'Bryan, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago; and Dr. George Capone of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. In addition, Roger Reeves, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins, Jean Delabar of Paris and Mara Dierssen of Spain assisted by suggesting and vetting speakers and topics, and reviewed all the investigator-initiated abstracts for choosing additional speakers for the final program.
Discussion topics at the workshop include “The Genes of Human Chromosome 21, Pathways and Processes They Influence,” “Lessons from Other Causes of Intellectual Disability,” “Mechanisms of Intellectual Disability in Down Syndrome,” “Pharmacology in Model Systems,” “The Down Syndrome Cognitive and Neurological Phenotype,” “Clinical Trials for Cognition in Down Syndrome,” and “Re-aligning the Targets for Clinical Trials.”
More information about the speakers and the workshop can be found at www.globaldownsyndrome.org.
About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation
The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Formally established in 2009, the Foundation has the primary focus of supporting the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the U.S. committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal. The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show — the single-largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome. Programmatically, the Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences, including the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders Dare to Cheer Camps, the Dare to Play Soccer Camps, the Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and the Global Down Syndrome Multi-Language Resource Project. The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.
About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome
The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome. The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy. It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.
