Dr. Allison Bradbury has been awarded a prestigious R01 grant from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study TBCD. This $2.8 Million dollar award will span five years of research, and support lifesaving developments.

We have collected genetic data from 20 patients and brought 11 patients from across the country into clinic to collect blood and/or skin samples. These samples are reprogrammed and used to generate individual cell lines that mimic brain activity for each patient individually based on their specific gene expression.

Dr. Mark E. Hester has generated novel cerebral organoids (COs) growing as we speak, which mimic brain activity for TBCD patients! These 3D brain structures (COs) give us unique insight into human-specific aspects of brain development that can’t be analyzed using animal models. This holds valuable potential in screening new gene therapies for patients with neurodevelopmental disorders.

We have connected with over 50 TBCD families worldwide; diligently working to bridge the gap in language barriers that limit data sharing and access to treatment globally.

We were awarded the CPAM Grant through UAB Precision Medical Institute to develop Landon’s specific preclinical model with BOTH of his mutations. This will let us study his disease in more depth. We will provide updates on the Landon model soon.