Guest Speakers
Thanks to three senior scientists who were very generous with their
time, we were able to provide ttendees with a view of fragile X
research from three unique perspectives. Dr. David Nelson of
Baylor University provided participants with his perspective as a
member of the original team that discovered the Fragile X gene
and who continues tomake important contributions to research in
this area. Dr. Nelson's presentation helped put into context the
state of current research and the importance of the work currently
underway. Dr. Fabrizio Gasparini, Program Team Head,
Neuroscience Discovery, Novartis Institute for BioMedical
Research, Basel, Switzerland in his talk entitled, Drug Discovery
Approaches to Fragile X, gave the attendees a realistic idea of the
timeline for drug development. This helped those basic scientists
in the audience better understand the potential pitfalls and
setbacks that are common in this kind of work. Dr. Randall
Carpenter of Seaside Pharmaceuticals spoke of the aims of this newly founded company to develop mGluR5 receptors antagonists as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of Fragile X syndrome.
HOUSE RESOLUTION 18235
A resolution designating April 16, 2007, as "Florida Fragile X Research and Awareness Day."
WHEREAS, Fragile X is the most common inherited cause of mental retardation and serves as a research model
for other neuropsychiatric disorders, and
WHEREAS, it is estimated there are currently approximately 90,000 individuals in the United States who suffer
from Fragile X, and
WHEREAS, Fragile X remains frequently undetected due to lack of awareness in the medical community, and
WHEREAS, Research to establish benefits of available treatments and intervention along with the potential for
the development of a cure to Fragile X has also had a profound effect on related disorder research, particularly autism, and
WHEREAS, Floridians are in a position to help raise public awareness about the need for increased funding for
research and early diagnosis and treatment for the disorder known as Fragile X, NOW, THEREFORE,
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Florida:
That the House of Representatives designates April 16th, 2007, as "Florida Fragile X Research and Awareness Day.
Posters and Oral Presentations
Following is a list of all who presented a poster or talked at the conference.
Posters
Isabel Fernández-Carvajal, University of Valladolid, Spain Marco Moscarda, Catholic University of Rome Silvia De Rubeis, University of Rome, Tor Vergata Vijayalaxmi Nalavadi, Emory University Giovanni Neri, Catholic University of Rome Ali Entezam, National Institutes of Health Daman Kumari, National Institutes of Health Oral Presentations
Stephanie Ceman, University of Illinois Charlotte D’Hulst, University of Antwerp Yolanda DeDiego Otero, Fundacion IMABIS Ola Larsson, University of Minnesota Ahmad Khalil, The Scripps Research Institute – Florida Daniela Zarnescu, University of Arizona Ravi Muddashetty, Emory University Usha Narayanan, Emory University Jason Dictenberg, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Suzanne Zukin, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Lingfei Hou, New York University Mika Nakamoto, Emory University Gul Dolen, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2008 Conference
Response to this year’s conference was overwhelmingly positive and we’ve been encouraged to add another day to the schedule. So, next year’s conference will be called “The Florida Fragile X Research Conference 2008” and it’s scheduled for April 13-15, 2008 at a Palm Beach County venue soon to be selected. We look forward to having our 2007 participants back and welcoming many more new participants! Visit our website for future Conference notices.
