Dear Friends: As the holiday season rapidly approaches we have much to celebrate at the Histiocytosis Association of America. I am very proud to announce that the Association has continued its efforts to find better treatments and a cure for all of the histiocytic disorders by recently awarding seven research grants totaling over $335,000. Since the establishment of the Association’s grant program, we have provided over $3.6 million of funding for research into the histiocytic disorders! Additionally, in 2009 the Association contributed more than $72,000 towards the development of the LCH-IV Clinical Trial and the creation of the Histiocyte Society Database System. To learn more about the research grants awarded by the Association this year, go to www.histio.org/2009programawards. You have every reason to feel proud about your role in our shared accomplishments. Together we are dramatically increasing scientific knowledge about this group of disorders. Already we have made it possible for researchers to identify better treatment options, and we are working intensively to support efforts to find the cure. We should not underestimate the importance of the Association’s grant program to the researchers studying treatments for the histiocytic disorders. 2009 grant award recipient Maarten Egeler of the Leiden University Medical Center had this to say about the program’s impact: “The financial support of the Histiocytosis Association of America has put research in the histiocytic disorders and research in dendritic cells and monocytes/macrophages on the map!” You can view the messages of gratitude that we have received from this year’s grant winners at www.histio.org/ResearchProgramTestimonials. The scientists conducting these essential projects are energized by our ongoing support for their research into the histiocytic disorders. But without your contributions, this would not be possible. Now, more than ever, we need to work in a unified effort to achieve our goals of finding more effective treatments and a cure. I look forward to continuing this work with you in 2010. In closing, thank you for everything that you do to help the members of our histio family. On behalf of the entire staff of the Histiocytosis Association of America I wish each and every one of you a joyful holiday season. Sincerely, Jeff Jeffrey M. Toughill |
