The Paulo Gontijo Institute awarded the International Medicine PG Award to Edor Kabashi, team leader at the Brain and Spine Institute – Institut du Cerveau – ICM, for his research on the development of new models and new therapeutic avenues for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Edor Kabashi joined the Brain and Spine Institute – Institut du Cerveau – ICM in 2011 as the “Treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: from genetics to zebrafish” team leader. He obtained his PhD in 2008 at McGill University and did postdoctoral work at Centre of Excellence in Neuromics at University of Montreal. He received many awards, including the Brain Star Award of CIHR Institute of Neuroscience in 2009 and 2011, and the Young investigator award from European Network for the Cure of ALS in 2015.
The International Medicine PG Award is an initiative of the Paulo Gontijo Institute to foster the research of young researchers around the world to promote the cure of ALS.
Selected from 15 studies, Kabashi’s studies have provided a breakthrough in developing new models and therapeutic avenues for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
“My team works to better understand how a variety of genetic mutations can cause motor neuron degeneration in ALS. We take advantage of a simple vertebrate model, zebrafish where one or several genes can be manipulated. Using this paradigm, we have described that several major ALS genes interact together and function in common pathways and we are currently identifying drugs which could affect these molecular targets”, says Edor Kabashi.
The International Medicine PG Award is recognized by the international scientific community. Its partners the International Alliance of ALS, Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA) and the European Community for research for the cure of ALS (ENCALS). The study results will be presented at opening ceremony of the 26th International Symposium on ALS / MND (motor neuron disease) to be held in Dublin (Ireland) in December.