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Baltimore Mayor Proclaims July 8 “End Duchenne Day” Celebrating Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy’s 17 th Annual Connect Conference Conference Includes Keynote Speaker and Acclaimed Author Seth Mnookin
Hackensack, NJ – June 29, 2010 – Patricia A. Furlong, Founding President and CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest non-profit organization in the United States focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), announced that the Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, Stephanie RawlingsBlake, has proclaimed July 8, 2011 to be “End Duchenne Day” in recognition of PPMD’s 17th Annual Connect Conference. Baltimore is playing host to the country’s largest Duchenne-specific, international conference, July 7 – 10, 2011. Researchers, scientists, and Duchenne experts from around the world travel to the Connect Conference every year to share with families the latest in muscular dystrophy research and care. Duchenne, the most common form of childhood muscular dystrophy, is a progressive and fatal muscle disorder affecting boys and young men that causes the loss of muscle function, wheelchair dependency, and a decline in respiratory and cardiac function. This year’s Connect Conference welcomes renowned author of The Panic Virus, Seth Mnookin. The Panic Virus uses a combination of investigative reporting, intellectual and scientific history, and sociological analysis to explore the controversies over vaccines and their rumored connection to developmental disorders. The Connect Conference will also feature a pre-conference meeting for researchers, medical professionals, and industry on July 6–7. While PPMD will of course provide expert presentations regarding Duchenne research during the Connect Conference, it also recognized the need for a closed scientific meeting. PPMD is providing this forum for researchers to gather and discuss, in the hopes of uniting the international Duchenne research field, as well as promote collaborations. A report from this meeting will be presented to the attendees of the general Connect Conference. As Ms. Furlong and the PPMD staff finish preparations for this year’s Connect Conference– which includes an exclusive PPMD party at the National Aquarium in Baltimore – she commented on what the Mayor’s Proclamation means to the Duchenne community: “Baltimore is a critical ally in our fight to end Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Our friends at The Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have played pivotal roles in the research and development of potential therapies to stop the progression of this deadly disorder. To have the Mayor