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Newsletter September 2024
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- AGI Steering Committee Election
- Hereditary Ataxia in West Africa
- International Congress for Ataxia Research 2024
- ICAR 2024 Travel Scholarship - Pediatric Neurology Trainee
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AGI Steering Committee Election
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In Autumn 2024, the new AGI Steering Committee will be elected.
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From 23 September to 7 October 2024, all AGI members with profound experience in ataxia will be invited to nominate themselves for the Steering Committee. Nominees have to assign their self-nomination to one of the following ballot categories:
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- Academia
- Patient Representatives (PAO),
- Non-Academia/Non-PAO (i.e. industry/other)
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Not an AGI member yet? In order to self-nominate yourself, please apply for AGI membership by 17 September! Members with expired membership have to apply for renewal by 30 September (by informal email to the office).
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Hereditary Ataxia in West Africa
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Dear African Neurologists and Researchers,
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Advances in genetic testing has been crucial to characterize the landscape of hereditary ataxias in multiple regions worldwide. Factors such as migration, population genetics and founder effects strongly influenced the landscape of hereditary ataxia, with some specific ataxia subtypes being common in one area but extremely rare in others. Studies in different populations have shown that the genetic causes of hereditary ataxias are highly heterogenous across the world. However, there exist a significant knowledge gap in Sub-Saharan Africa where populations of African genetic ancestry remain genetically unexplored. With Africa's population set to double by 2050, it is crucial to address this knowledge gap and explore the unique genetic, ethnic, and geographical factors influencing hereditary ataxia in populations with African genetic ancestry. Since African populations have the highest levels of genetic variation among all humans, the genetic landscape of hereditary ataxia in Africa could differ from other geographical regions and within Africa itself.
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With support from the National Ataxia Foundation seed program, a group of clinical researchers from Senegal (Prof Maouly Fall, Dr Pedro Rodriguez, Prof Moustapha Ndiaye, Prof Amadou Gallo Diop) and Nigeria (Prof Njideka Okubadejo, Dr Oluwadamilola Ojo), in collaboration with colleagues at UCL (Prof Henry Houlden) and CNAG (Dr Sergi Beltran), are conducting a pilot study to bridge the knowledge gap on hereditary ataxia in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the West Africa region. For further information or to get involved, please contact info@senegene.org or visit the SENEGENE website.
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International Congress for
Ataxia Research 2024
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Early bird pricing ends on September 30, 2024!
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Spots are limited so please book your ticket today.
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🗓️ The event program is now live on the ICAR website. To download the PDF, please click here.
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Thank You to ICAR Sponsors
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ICAR 2024 Travel Scholarship -
Pediatric Neurology Trainee
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Larimar Therapeutics, Inc. is sponsoring three travel scholarships to attend ICAR 2024. These scholarships are available to physicians-in training who have a specific interest in movement disorders in children and are currently in at least their second year of a US-based post-graduate pediatric neurology training program. The travel scholarship provides up to $5,000 in reimbursement to defray the costs for conference registration, accommodations, and travel. Scholarship recipients will be required to submit receipts for reimbursement.
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Scholarship applicants are encouraged to submit the following:
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- A one page statement that includes
- their stage of post-graduate training,
- a description of their interest in movement disorders in children, and
- any other relevant information (participation in research, movement disorders clinic, etc.);
- Letter from program director verifying status in training program;
- Letter of recommendation from neurologist specializing in Friedreich’s ataxia.
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All applications will be reviewed by a subset of the planning committee for the International Congress for Ataxia Research.
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Please forward this information to persons who might fit the requirements. Thank you!
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Become an AGI Member or Partner
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Become an AGI member or partner!
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The application for membership (as individual) and partnership (as organization) of the AGI is available on our website. More information about membership and partnership can be found in our charter.
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As a member, you can join the AGI working groups, nominate and vote for new members for the AGI Steering Committee, and attend our business meetings.
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