$52,000 awarded to Dr. Richard Scheuermann for MS Research

JCVI’s Innovation Fund has awarded $52,000 to JCVI’s Dr. Richard Scheuermann, Ph.D., Director of Informatics, to support a pilot study testing the hypothesis that genomic changes in genes that regulate immune tolerance are required to initiate autoimmunity. The study will first focus on the autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Innovation Fund award will support a pilot study in which cells from the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients will be genome sequenced to determine how they differ from normal cells. Experimental support for the hypothesis that autoimmune diseases arise due to genomic changes in genes involved in immunological tolerance would be a real game changer. It would provide the first clear mechanistic explanation of the critical causative events that initiate autoimmunity.

Private funding is critical to unleashing scientists’ most groundbreaking ideas, moving them from speculative plans to impactful programs that can be supported by more traditional funding sources. To play a role in pushing the boundaries of science, support JCVI’s Innovation Fund with a gift of any level.

Together we can fuel the next life changing scientific breakthrough.

Contact

Development Office
development(AT)jcvi.org