This July, the Cure CMD Scientific and Family Conference in Washington D.C. brought together researchers, patients, families and advocacy groups in their push for research regarding congenital muscular dystrophy.
The event ran from July 7 – 9, with the first day of the conference open only to clinicians and researchers. The following days were open to Congenital Muscular Dystrophy patients and their family members and caregivers. The NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository team from Coriell was in attendance.
“It’s always great to meet the families and researchers we work so closely with throughout the year.” Dr. Deborah Requesens, a principal investigation for the collection, said. “Hand-in-hand collaboration with patients and their families is critical to supplying researchers with the samples they need in their work.”
Aside from Coriell, representatives from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the National Institute of Nursing Research, Boston Children’s Hospital and many other organizations were in attendance.
The NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository at Coriell houses and distributes more than 500 different muscular dystrophy samples for researchers studying the disease. Earlier this year, the repository added induced pluripotent stem cells derived from muscular dystrophy patients to the collection.
