A-T Children's Project

Who We Are A-T Children's Project Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a genetic disease that causes loss of muscle control and balance, cancer, lung disease and immune system problems in children & young adults, shortening their lives. The nonprofit **A-T Children’s Project** partners with academic and industry investigators worldwide – organizing and supporting innovative research, conferences, clinical teams, data platforms and biomarker development – to optimize disease management strategies, develop new treatments and find a cure. **Our Mission** To encourage and support excellent laboratory research which will accelerate the discovery of a cure or possible therapies for ataxia-telangiectasia by: - awarding competitive research grants to top scientists using a peer-review board comprised of top scientists and physicians, - organizing and sponsoring workshops and symposiums in order to encourage cooperation among laboratories and to generate new research strategies, and - working with Congress and the National Institutes of Health to encourage the funding of active research on A-T by agencies of the U.S. government. And: - To improve the accurate and timely diagnosis of A-T patients by increasing public awareness and by educating physicians. - To develop and maintain an international patient registry of A-T patients with objective, neutral oversight, while leaving ultimate control in the hands of treating physicians, so that up-to-date clinical information about A-T patients can be obtained for researchers and so that when a treatment is developed, all patients can be reached through their physicians. - To support and oversee a clinical center and information clearinghouse at a top-rated, world-class medical center for the evaluation of A-T patients by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, and for the accumulation of experience in managing the many facets of A-T such as ataxia, cancer, and immune problems. - To develop quantitative endpoints for objectively measuring the progression rate and severity of the symptoms of A-T. - To maintain and enlarge a tissue/cell bank with objective, neutral oversight, and control in order to ensure free access of existing and new researchers to A-T patient specimens.