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About Us Funding
The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins is funded by philanthropy. Simply put, our donors determine how much science we can do, and how quickly we can pursue promising new ideas and paths that might lead to better answers and new treatments for ALS. The donations that we receive – whether from people with ALS, family, friends, foundations, or grass-roots and local groups – are turned by the Packard Center into path-breaking research with leading investigators in research centers around the world. Our motto is, "The Hope is in the Science," but the funds from our supporters fuel the science. Our supporters – the donors who give their resources in support of our mission – are our most important asset. Without them, we simply could not exist.
We're Funding Performance-Driven ALS Research
The Center's directors set short-term goals as well as long-range ones and keep a close eye on progress. Researchers must openly share unpublished data and respond to collaborative opportunities. We don't wait a year – or years – to discover lack of productivity or lack of collaboration. Failure to share data or actively collaborate leads to a withdrawal of funding. A Scientific Advisory Board evaluates investigators' work to keep it on track. We take our search for a cure seriously: once a project has provided the answers needed, or if a research path turns unproductive, support stops.
We're Streamlining Funding for Researchers
Efficiency is one of the Packard Center's watchwords. We minimize the lengthy grant process typical of academic medicine to get them to the lab bench quickly when it comes to ALS research. Our grant applications are only two pages and projects are funded in as little as 2 weeks.
Charlotte Sumner, PhD
Neurologist Charlotte Sumner has a long history of studying neuromuscular disorders. In particular, she has focused her attention on caring for patients with inherited motor neuron and peripheral nerve disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Her work on the molecular pathogenesis of spinal muscular atrophy and the development of therapeutics may provide important clues for those with ALS.
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