Kyle Bryant, who has a rare neuromuscular disorder called Friedreich’s ataxia, is cycling 2,800 miles to raise awareness and research funds to help find a cure for the disorder. He made a stop January 31 at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, which recently launched a center to fight mitochondrial diseases such as Friedreich’s ataxia. He was met by Valley residents who also have Freidreich’s ataxia and families from the local National Ataxia Foundation support group.
Ron Bartek, President of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, said they selected the Institute as a stop because it “is leading an exciting international collaboration, developing therapeutic approaches that are extremely promising of significant, near-term benefit to those with Friedreich’s ataxia.” The Biodesign Institute launched the Center for BioEnergetics in the fall of 2006 to focus on improved diagnoses and treatments for diseases caused by impaired energy metabolism, such as Freiderich’s ataxia. The Center’s co-directors, Sidney Hecht, PhD, and Guy Miller, MD, PhD, founded a pharmaceutical company (Edison Pharmaceuticals) focusing on inherited mitochondrial disorders in 2005.
Each month, innovative research from the Biodesign Institute appears in the world’s premier scientific journals. Many such studies have graced the covers of these journals, showcasing Biodesign research ranging from water remediation to nanometer-scale structures built from DNA.
Alternate Lifestyles: Searching for Life in the Shadow Biosphere
Tiny Legos That Build Themselves: The Magic of DNA Nanostructures
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