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Ionis establishes new grant program to advance research and understanding of transthyretin amyloidosis
The Janice Wiesman Young Investigator Grant Program honors leading expert on neurological impact of amyloidosis CARLSBAD, Calif., March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/
About this update from Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"The Janice Wiesman Young Investigator Grant Program honors leading expert on neurological impact of amyloidosis\n\n\nCARLSBAD, Calif., March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IONS) today announced that the company has launched a new grant program that provides funding to U.S.-based researchers whose work advances the understanding of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR), facilitates early diagnosis and enhances disease management of patients living with ATTR amyloidosis. The Janice Wiesman Young Investigator Grant Program is named in honor of Janice Wiesman, M.D. (1958-2020), a leading global expert on the neurological impact of amyloidosis. The program will provide two young investigators with an award of $50,000 annually per awardee for up to two years. It is designed to enable young investigators, including residents, fellows and junior faculty, to gain quality research experience in ATTR amyloidosis. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nATTR amyloidosis is a rare, progressive and fatal disease that occurs when there is a buildup of abnormal (misfolded) transthyretin protein in the body's tissues and/or organs. Most commonly it affects the peripheral nerves, heart, intestinal tract, eyes and kidneys. The progressive accumulation of amyloid deposits in the nerves leads to sensory, motor and autonomic dysfunction often having debilitating effects on multiple aspects of a patient's life.\n\"We are proud to establish the Janice Wiesman Young Investigator Grant program, an important initiative to help increase our understanding of transthyretin amyloidosis and, ultimately, to better serve patients and families living with this devastating rare disease,\" said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., Ionis' chief executive officer. \"We are also honored to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Wiesman, who I had the pleasure of working with and who over the years demonstrated a remarkable commitment to advancement of the field. Her contributions to the amyloid community have left an indelible impact.\"\n\"As Janice's husband, I saw first-hand how much her work in the amyloid community meant to her, not only professionally, in her role as a neurologist with the Amyloidosis Center at Boston University, but personally, as she participated in countless patient support group meetings and got to know other specialists and individual patients over th...