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DSRTF Support of the Center for Research and Treatment of Down Syndrome at Stanford University:

DSRTF's mission is to provide targeted project funding for medical research aimed at understanding the biological basis for cognitive impairment in Down syndrome and accelerating the development of effective treatments. DSRTF believes that the most effective research model for this kind of research integrates both basic and clinical research and relies upon a multi-disciplinary approach that utilizes expertise in genetics, molecular and cellular biology, and the biology of neural circuits and behavior.

DSRTF believes that this research model is most effectively executed at The Center for Research and Treatment of Down Syndrome at Stanford University. Established in 2003, the Center is officially designated as part of the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford. The Center Director is Dr. William Mobley and the Co-Director is Dr. Craig Garner. The Center emphasizes a multi-disciplinary approach that emphasizes the application of research findings to advance the creation of effective treatments. The Center also places a priority on collaboration between researchers within the Center and at other institutions. Some of its most recent research focuses on synaptic development, function and maintenance in Down syndrome, as well as behavioral studies of mouse models and imaging cognitive function of Down syndrome. To learn more about the research at the Stanford Center, go to http://dsresearch.stanford.edu.

Because DSRTF believes that the research model at Stanford is the most promising to come along in many years, we are directing most of our research funding to the Stanford Center during 2004 and 2005. In 2004, DSRTF contributed $500,000 to the Stanford Center. DSRTF plans to support research at other institutions that emphasize a similar multi-disciplinary approach aimed at producing effective treatments.

>> Read Mobley's Congressional Testimony