Boston Bruins Foundation’s $90,000 commitment to FRAXA
The new fellowship to be funded by this award goes to Drs. Lynne Maquat and Tatsuaki Kurosaki of the University of Rochester. They will investigate nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) in Fragile X. NMD is a “housekeeping” process that cells use to prevent faulty proteins from being made. But there is too much of it in Fragile X syndrome. There are already available drugs that suppress NMD – including caffeine — and so If this project is successful, it could lead to new off-the-shelf Fragile X treatments.
At the event were children and families impacted by Fragile X syndrome, autism and related disabilities. Sweeney and attendees participated in a tour at the Shared Living Collaborative, which features an extraordinary farm and equestrian-based program that serves children and adults with Fragile X, autism, and many other disabilities.
“The Boston Bruins Foundation is happy to partner with FRAXA to support additional research for Fragile X Syndrome. We hope that with our support we will eventually find a cure for this disease. The Bruins Foundations mission is to enhance the quality of life of children; through this grant, we are excited to see all the progress that will be accomplished over the next two years,” said Bob Sweeney, Bruins Foundation Executive Director.
The Bruins will hold a 50/50 raffle for FRAXA at one of their home games later this year.
Read the Boston Bruins article here