The Myocarditis Foundation, a non-profit, international organization located in Point Pleasant, NJ, founded in 2005, is dedicated to increasing awareness and hastening progress in understanding this rare disease. Myocarditis is a disease that is marked by inflammation and scarring of the heart muscle. It is poorly understood and often underdiagnosed. It can progress rapidly to heart failure, and death or heart transplantation. Several thousand patients per year are diagnosed in the United States. The disease usually attacks otherwise healthy people. Approximately 5-20% of all cases of sudden death in young adults are due to myocarditis. To help guarantee that new and innovative research avenues are thoroughly funded and explored, the Myocarditis Foundation raises money for research and physician and patient education.
Candace C. Moose, of Point Pleasant, NJ, spokesperson for the organization said, “The foundation awards funds to support research related to all forms of myocarditis and to encourage physicians to study this rare disease. It is our hope that the research we fund will result in better diagnostic techniques and novel treatment modalities that will save more lives.”
The Foundation announced in third quarter 2009 that it was accepting Grant Applications until December 2009. Their international Medical Advisory Board, made up of leading myocarditis researchers from around the world, selected the grant recipients from a distinguished field of candidates. Today the Foundation is proud to announce the award of three Research Fellowship Grant recipients: Dr. David Marchant, Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Silvio Antoniak, Ph.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. Byung Kwan Lim of the University of California San Diego.
Dr. Leslie T. Cooper, Jr., of the Mayo Clinic and President of the Foundation commented, “We are pleased to support the career development of such outstanding physician-scientists and look forward to the contribution they will undoubtedly make in the field of myocarditis research.” Dr. Marchant’s research is directed toward the science which could lead to both a new diagnostic and a potential novel therapy to treat viral myocarditis. Dr. Antoniak’s research is primarily directed on gaining a better understanding about how viral myocarditis progresses to heart muscle failure. Dr. Lim’s research is focused on the role of the Coxsackievirus and its relationship to viral myocarditis.
For more information about the Myocarditis Foundation, go to the internet at myocarditis.viewsamplesite.com.
