What Your Dollars Will Do
Dr. Schmahmann's Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology urgently and immediately needs funds to keep his existing research team intact. To propel his research going forward, funds are needed to expand his team and to join the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND).
"Unlike other projects, I don't need funds to build a building. I need funds to build a team. The need to attract the best and brightest investigators the world has to offer is critical if we are going to connect the cerebellum to cures and make a difference for Catie and millions like her."
– Jeremy D. Schmahmann, MD
Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital
The Immediate Need for Funds:
Securing two research positions: The 2010 salaries of and lab support for Dr. Schmahmann's postdoctoral fellow and research assistant. (These two positions have been funded in part by NIH grants that will expire at the end of 2009. Philanthropic support is needed right now to keep this small but productive group intact while awaiting the outcome of NIH grant applications for mid-2010 and the next five years.)
The Future Need for Funds:
1) To Build and Support a World-class Team
"Every week we receive requests from highly skilled scientists to join the lab, but there are no funds. Imagine if we could say 'yes.'"
– Jeremy D. Schmahmann, MD
Answering the next generation of questions raised by Dr. Schmahmann's groundbreaking research requires investigators at multiple levels of expertise and training. Funding is needed to build and support a world-class team. With your help Dr. Schmahmann can say "yes."
THE TEAM
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THE SUPPORT
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2) To Join a World-class Organization
Funding will enable Dr. Schmahmann to join the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND), the largest hospital-based research program in the U.S. There, experts work collaboratively to develop treatments for a broad range of diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's. Even though clinical similarities have been found between ataxias and these more well-known diseases, they are not presently a focus of the MIND Institute. With the enthusiasm of MIND's founder and director, Dr. Anne Young, and your support, we hope to change this, thereby greatly accelerating the speed and scope of Dr. Schmahmann's research.
" The vagaries of the grant application processes, the specific and changing agendas of the different funding agencies, the restrictive nature of the funding mechanisms and the protracted timelines involved in securing this support all limit our ability to pursue vital research. Your private donation is important because it bypasses these restrictions and will more quickly allow us to secure the long term stability and overall success of this research program... The extent to which our vision can be achieved will be directly related to the financial support available. The ideas and the technology are already in place, but the speed and scope of the work can be fueled only by the available research dollars."
– Jeremy D. Schmahmann, MD