Welcome to C3’s ‘News’ page! C3 will use this space to provide updates on the latest happenings at C3, as well as in the limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A (LGMD2A)/calpainopathy research field. Please re-visit this page often for continued updates from our team!

2016 Year in Review

Dr. Jennifer Levy Joins C3 Team

Early in the year, C3 hired Dr. Jennifer Levy as Scientific Director. Dr. Levy comes to C3 from Dr. Kevin Campbell’s laboratory at the University of Iowa where she was a postdoctoral fellow since 2009, after completing her PhD in cell and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her postdoctoral research was on the role of ubiquitous calpains in keeping muscle healthy. Welcome, Dr. Levy!

Muscular Dystrophy Research Conferences

Over the summer, the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy CONNECT Conference, the New Directions in Skeletal Muscle Biology, and the FASEB Calpain conferences all hosted international researchers and clinicians presenting the latest in muscular dystrophy and Calpain research. Dr. Levy represented C3 to learn more about treatment approaches currently being tested for various forms of muscular dystrophy, that could be potentially applicable to LGMD2A.

New C3 Research Grant Program is Established

C3 continues its mission to support the evaluation of potential treatments for LGMD2A with the announcement of a request for grant proposals in 2016. The goal of this program is to support projects that are likely to expand the understanding of Calpain 3 and LGMD2A with the ultimate goal of identifying therapeutic approaches for this disease.

C3 partnered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the TREAT-NMD Neuromuscular Network, and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy in order to distribute this program announcement to 5,000+ people from all over the world. C3 is accepting and reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The request for applications launched on September 15. You can see the full announcement here: https://www.curecalpain3.org/C3_RFA.pdf

2nd Annual LGMD Awareness Day

During 2016, C3 observed the 2^nd Annual LGMD Awareness Day. LGMD Day is held each year on September 30 to raise awareness among researchers, health care providers, and the public. This event was organized by LGMD-focused organizations and foundations, including C3. C3 invites you to join us and become an ambassador for LGMD Awareness Day 2017 by highlighting LGMD Awareness Day on your website or social media pages, by contacting your state and local elected officials for an official LGMD Awareness Day Proclamation, or by volunteering to be featured in an LGMD Spotlight Interview. Full details can be found here: http://www.lgmd-info.org/lgmd-awareness-day

World Muscle Society Annual Congress

C3 attended the World Muscle Society’s Annual Congress 2016 in Granada, Spain and presented a poster detailing its mission, registry, genetic screening program, and grants program. Researchers learned about the funds available from C3 for LGMD2A research programs. Clinicians learned how to use LGMD-diagnosis.com for free genetic testing of their patients, and that patients with a positive diagnosis for LGMD2A should be referred to C3’s global registry.

Attendees to the congress included many world-renowned researchers, including C3 Scientific Advisory Board members Dr. Melissa Spencer and Dr. Kevin Campbell, as well as C3 grantee Dr. Isabelle Richard. C3’s Dr. Levy benefited from presentations on topics across the neuromuscular field, including hereditary and acquired myopathies and advances in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders.

After a long day of learning about the latest advances in muscle research and therapies, Drs. Levy and Spencer convene to enjoy the beauty of Granada.

How can you get involved to help our mission?

1. If you or a family member have LGMD2A (calpainopathy), please join our global registry! This will facilitate better estimates of the number of people living with this disease and could be used to locate subjects for clinical trials. You can register here: http://lgmd2a.org/registry
2. Follow us on social media!  
3. Donate now! Your generous donation will be used to fund research for a cure for LGMD2A. Make you tax-deductible donation here: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/C3

We look forward to sharing more updates with you soon.