Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome Announces $1 Million in Major Challenge Grants

DENVER (Oct. 17, 2012) – The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora will jump-start research benefiting people with Down syndrome by presenting scientists with $1 million in grants.

The grant program is funded with money from the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Chancellors of the Boulder and Denver campuses and the Dean of the School of Medicine. Under the program, the Crnic Institute will award grants of up to $100,000 a year to scientists across research disciplines at the CU-Boulder and Anschutz campuses.

Dr. Tom Blumenthal, Executive Director of the Linda Crnic Institute, is optimistic about what this will do for the field. “I believe we will attract the best and brightest scientists with innovative scientific proposals,” Blumenthal said. “Most important, we expect the science will clearly benefit people with Down syndrome.”

A key criterion for applying for the Crnic grants will be attending an annual symposium with keynotes providing the latest information about research in the field of Down syndrome.

This year’s symposium is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 19, at the Anschutz campus, and about 150 people are expected to attend. The symposium will educate CU researchers about the current knowledge of the causes and properties of Down syndrome in order to spark interest in turning research in the direction of studying the most commonly occurring genetic condition, affecting one in every 691 births in the U.S. The research also will aim to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome through enhanced medical care and cognitive improvement.

Speakers at the symposium will include Blumenthal; Katheleen Gardiner and Huntington Potter of the Crnic Institute; Ben Tycko of Columbia University; Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University; and Nobel Laureate Tom Cech of CU-Boulder.

Scientists seeking a grant will apply by Jan. 14, 2013, with decisions and funding to be made in March 2013.

Down syndrome is the least-funded genetic condition by the National Institutes of Health despite its frequency. The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy.

 

About the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to significantly improving the lives of people with Down syndrome through research, medical care, education and advocacy. Formally established in 2009, the Foundation’s primary focus is to support the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, the first academic home in the U.S. committed to research and medical care for people with the condition. Fundraising and government advocacy that corrects the alarming disparity of national funding for people with Down syndrome is a major short-term goal. The Foundation organizes the Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show — the single-largest annual fundraiser benefiting people with Down syndrome.  Programmatically, the Foundation organizes and funds many programs and conferences, including the Dare to Play Football and Cheer Camps, Global Down Syndrome Educational Series, and Global Down Syndrome Multi-Language Resource Project. The Foundation is an inclusive organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

 

About the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome

The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome is the first medical and research institute with the mission to provide the best clinical care to people with Down syndrome, and to eradicate the medical and cognitive ill effects associated with the condition. Established in 2008, the Crnic Institute is a partnership between the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of Colorado Boulder, and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Headquartered on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Crnic Institute includes the Anna and John J. Sie Center for Down Syndrome at Children’s Hospital Colorado. It partners both locally and globally to provide life-changing research and medical care for individuals with Down syndrome. The Crnic Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation, and relies on the Global Down Syndrome Foundation for fundraising, education, awareness and government advocacy.  It is a research and medical-based organization without political or religious affiliation or intention.

 

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