What: Kickoff Reception, Hope Center for Neurological Disorders
When: 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5
Where: Center for Advanced Medicine, 4921 Parkview, Farrell Conference Room 1
Note: Chris Hobler, patient and ALS Hope founder, and his family will be available for interviews at the reception
Two St. Louis organizations have teamed up to create the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, a unique collaboration dedicated to basic science research on a broad spectrum of nervous system conditions. A reception to celebrate the new initiative will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the Center for Advanced Medicine, Farrell Conference Room 1.
By pooling the two institutions’ intellectual and financial resources, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and ALS Hope – The Chris Hobler/James Maritz Foundation will generate funds and conduct basic research to advance the understanding and treatment of neurological disorders.
“Washington University is deeply appreciative of community partnerships like this,” says Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University. “Forward-thinking endeavors such as the Hope Center are key to fostering scientific advancement. We are proud of our tradition of academic leadership and are honored to join forces with one of this community’s finest charitable organizations.”
The center should accelerate research in multiple areas of neurology, including investigations on neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Neurodegenerative diseases is one disease-focused area of research in BioMed 21, the School of Medicine’s strategic initiative to rapidly bring advances in basic science to the patient’s bedside.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to work with ALS Hope and the Hobler family,” says Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “We have always recognized the importance of collaboration to the advancement of medical science, and this initiative embodies that concept by enhancing such relationships both within the university and between our faculty and the St. Louis community.”
ALS Hope has committed $1 million for the initial phase of the project and will launch a multi-million-dollar fundraising campaign to garner further support for the center. Expenditures for new equipment will be as much as $3 million.
The center will be housed at the Department of Neurology under the scientific directorship of Mark P. Goldberg, M.D., professor of neurology and of anatomy and neurobiology. Center members will include faculty in neurology and from several other departments at the School of Medicine.
In addition to facilitating research within the University, the center will host an annual national summit, gathering top neurological researchers in the country to review research progress, present new findings and outline new avenues for research. In another unique aspect, the center will seek to promote collaborations beyond Washington University. Research grants made by the center may go beyond the center’s own members to researchers at other institutions around the world.
“I believe encouraging researchers to share ideas and discoveries with others working on similar disorders will lead to the answers we’re looking for,” says ALS Hope founder Chris Hobler. “Because of its long tradition in collaborative research and its reputation for scientific excellence, Washington University’s Department of Neurology is the perfect place for this type of endeavor.”
The strength of the Hope Center lies in its approach to investigating neurological disease, according to David M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology. Its focus on nurturing collaboration recognizes and capitalizes on the existence of mechanisms and concepts shared by many neurological disorders. Though every condition has unique characteristics and challenges, knowledge gained from studying different disorders, Holtzman says, will provide unexpected insights into each other. For example, though marked by different symptoms, many neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by a progressive accumulation of certain proteins that leads to deterioration of nerve cells.
“If we can understand some of the common mechanisms between diseases, we are likely to develop new insights and novel treatments for neurological conditions in general,” says Holtzman, who also is the Charlotte and Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology and a neurologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “By coordinating and centralizing our resources, we hope to organize the school’s basic science efforts in the neurobiology of disease from the ground up.”
One way the team plans to accomplish this is by establishing four core areas: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Disease Models and Education/Outreach. These cores will include designated, centralized laboratory space such as a gene therapy research hub, which will expedite research by merging related resources, technologies and expertise.
Washington University’s neurology department ranks second nationally in NIH research funding, but it can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain funding for large-scale, integrative projects. According to Holtzman, the availability of locally raised funds through collaboration with ALS Hope will allow researchers to undertake initiatives otherwise hindered by traditional fundraising processes.
“It can take a long time to get an innovative idea from concept to reality under the current funding system,” he explains. “I’m very excited that this project will allow us to tap into our local resources, and I am very optimistic that this will get new treatments from the bench to the bedside as quickly as possible.”
ALS Hope was founded in 2002 by Chris Hobler, who was diagnosed with ALS the previous year, and his family. The organization’s mission is to find a cure for ALS by funding progressive research and in the process create a new methodology for funding, researching and developing treatments for ALS and other neurological disorders.
The full-time and volunteer faculty of Washington University School of Medicine are the physicians and surgeons of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.