Research to be showcased at virtual event marking Rare Disease Day

BUFFALO:  Myasthenia gravis. Krabbe disease. Rapid onset dystonia Parkinsonism. Most people have never heard of these diseases. That’s because they are among the 6,000 rare diseases that affect 300 million people around the world, including 1 in 10 in the U.S. But researchers at the University at Buffalo and other institutions are hard at work studying them and caring for the many patients who suffer from them.

Soon, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB will hold a virtual event to recognise rare disease patients, their clinicians, and the researchers working to discover the causes of these conditions and, ultimately, the cures.

Rare Disease Day is an international event aimed at raising awareness about rare diseases, sharing the experiences of patients with these conditions and presenting groundbreaking research.

The virtual event will be held on Zoom from 6-8 p.m. 

The idea for the event started with Meagan Collins, a second-year MD/PhD candidate in the Jacobs School with a longstanding interest in rare diseases. While pursuing a master’s in neuroscience at McGill University, Collins studied rare diseases and worked as a research coordinator for a foundation focused on a group of rare conditions known as the GRIA, GRID, GRIK and GRIN-related neurodevelopmental disorders.

“There’s definitely a growing movement for rare disease research because you can apply a lot of the biology that we have learned from rare diseases to more common diseases,” she said.

When Collins arrived at the Jacobs School and realized that Allison Brashear, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, is the leading international expert on a rare condition called rapid onset dystonia Parkinsonism, she had to approach her about holding this event.

Brashear readily expressed support for the event and agreed to give a talk about her research. She also pointed out that rare disease research is flourishing at UB.

“There is no question that the Jacobs School is an emerging powerhouse for research into a wide range of rare diseases,” said Brashear. “This event provides all of us studying rare diseases and anyone interested in such research to come together to share information and learn about all the amazing opportunities available in this exciting field.”

And once Collins began looking into who in the Jacobs School and in Buffalo were studying rare diseases and caring for rare disease patients, she was pleasantly surprised, not only by how many there were but also by how eager they were to participate.

“The list grew very fast,” she said. “When I started asking people if they would speak, I kept getting yesses.”