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Whoopi Goldberg Joins Foundation’s Council

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Whoopi Goldberg is a prolific artist, producer, and entrepreneur. She has achieved the EGOT, meaning she is one of just 17 people to have won the Emmy, the Grammy, the Academy Award – or Oscar, and the Tony.
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Watch Now: Webinar on New Approaches with Immunotherapies and Breast Cancer

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Breast cancer is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. While we have advanced care for breast cancer, treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are associated with significant side effects and are costly for the healthcare system. To mark Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Foundation partnered with Breast Cancer Alliance (BCA) to explain how emerging immunotherapy research is providing hope to more effectively treat breast cancer.  The Foundation and BCA are funding groundbreaking research to treat breast cancer, and we are partnering to share knowledge with the understanding that combination therapies, such as those you will hear about on the webinar, are the future. We are also committed to advancing health equity and ensuring access to these groundbreaking therapies. Presentations and Speakers “Treatment of Breast Tumors at The University of Virginia with Focused Ultrasound Ablation” David R. Brenin, MDUniversity of Virginia (UVA Health)M.C. Wilhelm Professor in Diseases of the BreastDivision Chief of Breast and Melanoma SurgeryCo-Director, UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center The UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center is the world’s first center dedicated specifically to advancing focused ultrasound and cancer immunotherapy treatments that could revolutionize 21st-century cancer care. “Tempering the Hostile Tumor Microenvironment to Boost Immunotherapy Outcomes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer” Scott Abrams, PhDRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterProfessor of Oncology, Department of ImmunologyCo-Leader, Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy CCSG Program Michael Nemeth, PhDRoswell Park Comprehensive Cancer CenterAssistant Professor of Oncology, Department of ImmunologyCo-Chair, Leukemia Translational Research Group Moderator Natasha Sheybani, PhDUniversity of Virginia Assistant Professor, Biomedical EngineeringResearch Director, UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center
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Watch Now: Webinar on Focused Ultrasound and Alzheimer's Disease

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a looming health crisis and, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, there are approximately six million people in the US aged 65 or older living with AD. This number is projected to nearly triple by 2060. It is estimated that the cost associated with treating the disease in the US could reach $500 billion annually by 2040. There is no cure for AD, but focused ultrasound, a revolutionary medical technology, is a novel approach to noninvasively open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the hopes of clearing amyloid plaques and tau proteins, hypothesized to be a possible cause for AD. Opening the BBB with focused ultrasound may also provide a method to facilitate the delivery of medications that alone cannot cross the BBB, and/or to allow for increased concentrations of drugs to reach the desired target. In recognition of World Alzheimer’s Day this September, the Focused Ultrasound Foundation partnered with George Vradenburg, chairman and co-founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, and John R. Dwyer, Jr., president of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, to host a webinar on focused ultrasound for Alzheimer’s disease.  The primary speaker was Sandra Black, OC, O.Ont., MD, FRSC, renowned neurologist, senior scientist, and director of the Dr. Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience & Recovery at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto. Dr. Black discussed the current status of AD treatments and the potential of focused ultrasound to overcome current barriers.  Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, director of the Harquail Centre of Neuromodulation at Sunnybrook, and a leading researcher in focused ultrasound and AD, provided an overview of progress with focused ultrasound and AD, highlighting current clinical trials. Insightec’s Chief Strategic Innovation Officer Arjun (JJ) Desai, MD, highlighted the innovative Florida Brain State Initiative, a collaboration between three prominent medical schools, state government, and industry (Insightec) to fund a multicenter focused ultrasound clinical trial for AD. Finally, a live Q&A with the speakers and John Dwyer was moderated by the Foundation’s Director of Clinical Relationships Suzanne LeBlang, MD, and George Vradenburg. Presenters Sandra Black, OC, O.Ont., MD, FRSCNeurologist, Senior Scientist, and Director of the Dr. Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience & Recovery Sunnybrook Research Institute Nir Lipsman, MD, PhDNeurosurgeon and Director of the Harquail Centre of NeuromodulationSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Arjun (JJ) Desai, MDChief Strategic Innovation OfficerInsightec Partners John R. Dwyer, Jr.PresidentGlobal Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation John R. Dwyer, Jr., is the President of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) Foundation, a patient-centric nonprofit organization dedicated to the mission of reducing the time and cost while improving the quality and diversity of AD and other central nervous system therapeutic clinical studies. Prior to GAP, he served as the co-founder and Chairman of Telcare, Inc. (Phillips Medisize), a high technology manufacturer of the first wirelessly enabled blood glucose meter system empowering patients with diabetes to better manage their disease. Mr. Dwyer co-founded Us Against Alzheimer’s, a patient advocacy group focused on changing the way the country addresses the threat posed by Alzheimer’s. He also cofounded the first political action committee focused on a specific disease, the Alzheimer’s Action PAC. He is a graduate of Marquette University and the Cornell Law School. George VradenburgChairman and Co-founderUSAgainstAlzheimer’s George Vradenburg is the Chairman and Co-Founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2), a disruptive and catalytic force committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2025. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, a coalition focused on driving global scientific, business, policy, and financial coordination in Alzheimer’s preparedness that was co-convened in January 2020 by the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease and the World Economic Forum. In this role, Mr. Vradenburg provides general oversight and advocacy and works to ensure the Collaborative remains sustainable and action-oriented. In 2011, the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services named himto serve on the National Alzheimer’s Advisory Council on Research, Care, and Services for the first-of-its-kind National Alzheimer’s Strategic Plan. He received his BA from Oberlin College, magna cum laude, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his JD from Harvard Law School, cum laude.
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Focused Ultrasound for Parkinson’s Disease: Results of First Clinical Trial to Deliver Therapeutics

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Key Points The results of an early-stage clinical trial investigating focused ultrasound to address a possible underlying cause of Parkinson’s disease were published in Movement Disorders.Researchers in Toronto tested the safety and efficacy of focused ultrasound–induced blood-brain barrier opening to deliver enzyme replacement therapy.The procedure was well-tolerated, and a larger study is being planned. Courtesy of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre The results of a groundbreaking clinical trial investigating focused ultrasound to enhance drug delivery and address a possible underlying cause of Parkinson’s disease (PD) were recently published in Movement Disorders. Researchers from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto used focused ultrasound to disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in patients with early-stage PD to deliver an enzyme replacement therapy called imiglucerase – or Cerezyme®. The BBB is a protective layer of tightly joined cells that lines the blood vessels in the brain and prevents harmful substances, such as toxins and infectious agents, from diffusing from the blood into the surrounding brain tissue. However, it can also prevent beneficial therapeutic agents from getting into the brain in high enough concentrations to be effective. Focused ultrasound has been proven to safely and temporarily disrupt this barrier, and in this study, researchers aimed to open the BBB to allow delivery of the enzyme to the putamen – a key structure in the brain related to movement disturbances.  Some patients with PD can have a deficiency of a naturally occurring enzyme called glucocerebrosidase. Enzyme replacement therapy could be one approach to reduce or prevent neurodegeneration in PD. “There are robust data in both preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating that glucocerebrosidase replacement is a promising disease-modifying therapy in Parkinson’s disease,” says Dr. Ying Meng, the study’s first author and a neurosurgery resident at the University of Toronto. In the trial, four participants received three doses of the therapeutic plus focused ultrasound every two weeks to the side of the brain most affected by the disease. They were followed for three and six months. No significant adverse events were reported. “We showed that focused ultrasound BBB opening can safely be combined with enzyme replacement therapy in PD, with promising, though very early, suggestions of biologic efficacy,” says Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD, the study’s co-principal investigator and director of Sunnybrook’s Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation. “Our findings are an exciting and critical first step in less invasive, direct-to-brain delivery of therapeutics to key areas of the brain important in the development and progression of PD.” The trial was funded in part by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. “Focused ultrasound is an established therapy to help reduce the symptoms of PD, including tremor and dyskinesia, but this study is the first of its kind in aiming to treat the underlying cause of the disease and potentially stop progression or even reverse the neurological deficits,” said Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. “The researchers at Sunnybrook have been leaders in focused ultrasound for neurological conditions, and the Foundation is proud to support their work.” Looking ahead, the Sunnybrook and UHN researchers have launched a Phase I/II clinical trial continuing the team’s investigation, which is set to start enrolling patients this fall. “Our team is focused on next steps, collaborating with local and global partners on larger trials, and determining what impact we are having, if any, on disease progression,” added Dr. Lipsman. “The ultimate goal is nothing short of slowing the disease and improving the lives of our patients and their families.” Read Sunnybrook’s Announcement >
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