Over the last decade, we’ve seen many advances in spinal muscular atrophy research, from new techniques in gene therapy to drugs that show promise in slowing or stopping the progress of the disease. With such great promise in the research landscape, we know that no single group can develop a treatment for SMA alone—it requires collaboration between academics, industry, government, and families.
Our Annual SMA Conference is one of the primary ways we encourage this collaboration. And our Family Friendly Research Poster Session is one of the most anticipated events within the conference.
During the event, families are encouraged to rotate around to the different posters to ask questions and learn from the researchers about the specific projects being presented. Many of the presenters are Cure SMA grantees, meaning that families can interact directly with the researchers who are receiving the funds they have raised or donated.
At the 2016 Annual SMA Conference, 33 presenters representing different SMA research projects were showcased. All of the clinical stage drug programs for SMA were included among the presenters, plus a variety of basic research projects and clinical care research projects. In all, more than 1,500 families and researchers were there to share information and learn from each other.
If you missed the Family Friendly Research Poster Session at the 2016 Annual SMA Conference, or if you want to take another look at the posters shown, you can download them now and catch up on the latest SMA research news.