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| Letter to President Barack Obama
January 22, 2009
President Barack Obama
Dear President Obama:
We represent a broad spectrum of physicians, scientists and researchers and are writing to express our strong support for your commitment to expand scientific research. As you consider this increased investment in science, we want to highlight a very important and potentially far-reaching area of inquiry. Specifically, greater understanding of the mitochondria could provide insights into treatments for a wide range of diseases and conditions that affect millions of Americans.
Mitochondria are often called the “powerhouses of the cell.” They are specialized compartments within almost every cell and are responsible for producing the energy needed by our body to sustain life. Mitochondria combine oxygen from the air we breathe with calories from food to produce the energy required for all bodily functions. If the mitochondria fail to produce sufficient energy, the cell will not function properly and organ systems will fail.
Research has revealed that mitochondrial dysfunction is at the core of many common illnesses and chronic conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, cancer and even the aging process. Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis also may have a mitochondrial basis. There also is new evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in the cause of some children’s autism.
There also are “primary” mitochondrial diseases that usually result from genetic defects that reduce the ability of the mitochondria to produce energy. Mitochondrial disease was recognized relatively recently with the first cases diagnosed in adults in the 1960s and in children in the 1980s. Every 30 minutes a child is born who will develop a mitochondrial disease by age ten. Research published six months ago showed that more than 1 in 200 people have mitochondrial DNA mutations that could lead to mitochondrial disease.
Acknowledging the potentially far-reaching implications that would result from a deeper understanding of the mitochondria, The National Institutes of Health recently committed to establish a mitochondria research initiative that would involve all NIH institutes. This initiative will play a significant role in advancing science and medicine. In the 2008 appropriations legislation, the United States Congress expressed its support for intensified mitochondrial research within NIH.
While some steps are being taken, much more could be done to increase our understanding of this critical area of human health. Because mitochondria are so important to the health of cells, a full understanding of their function and dysfunction will have a significant impact on the health of our citizens and will lead to prevention and cures for medical problems that currently affect millions of Americans. We respectfully urge your Administration to include research into mitochondrial medicine among your top medical and research priorities.
Respectfully,
Salvatore DiMauro, MD Lucy G. Moses Professor of Neurology Columbia University New York, NY Bruce H. Cohen, MD Chief of Pediatric Neurology The Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH Robert K. Naviaux, MD, PhD UCSD Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center University of California – San Diego San Diego, CA Peter W. Stacpoole, PhD, MD Director, General Clinical Research Center Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute Associate Dean, Clinical Research and Training University of Florida Gainesville, FL Sidney M. Gospe, Jr., MD, PhD Herman and Faye Sarkowsky Endowed Chair Head, Division of Pediatric Neurology Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics University of Washington Seattle, WA Douglas C. Wallace, PhD Director, Center for Molecular & Mitochondrial Medicine and Genetics Biological Chemistry School of Medicine University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Charles Hoppel, MD Co-Director Center for Inherited Disorders of Energy Metabolism Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, OH Jerry Vockley, MD, PhD Professor of Pediatrics School of Medicine University of Pittsburgh Professor of Human Genetics Graduate School of Public Health Chief of Medical Genetics Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Pittsburgh, PA John M. Shoffner, MD Neurology, Biochemical Genetics, Molecular Genetics Medical Neurogenetics, LLC Adjunct Associate Professor, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA Vamsi Mootha, MD Associate Professor, Department of Systems Biology Harvard Medical School & MGH/Broad Institute Cambridge, MA David Chan, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Biology California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA Michael A. Frohman, MD, PhD Professor & Ch airman Department of Pharmacological Sciences Director Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD, MSTP) Center for Developmental Genetics Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY Keshav Singh, PhD Professor of Oncology Department of Cancer Genetics Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Douglas S. Kerr, MD, PhD Director Center for Inherited Disorders of Energy Metabolism Professor, Department of Pediatrics Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, OH Michio Hirano, PhD Associate Professor of Neurology Neurological Institute Columbia University New York, NY Russell P. Saneto, DO, PhD Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics University of Washington Seattle, WA Susan P. LeDoux, PhD Assistant Dean for Curriculum Professor and Vice-Chair Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience University of South Alabama Mobile, AL Amy C. Goldstein, MD Child Neurologist, Division of Child Neurology Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics & Neurology University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, PA Kendall B. Wallace, PhD Diplomate, American Board of Toxicology Fellow, Academy of Toxicological Sciences Editor, Toxicology Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, MN Gerald S. Shadel, PhD Departments of Pathology & Genetics Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT Sion Williams, PhD University of Miami Department of Neurology Miami, FL Lee-Jun Wong, PhD Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Dennis R. Winge, PhD Department of Internal Medicine University of Utah Health Sciences Center Salt Lake City, UT Tina Wenz, PhD University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Neurology Miami, FL Mindong Ren, PhD Assistant Professor of Cell Biology New York University School of Medicine New York, NY Mark Tarnopolsky, MD, PhD, FRCP Associate Professor Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine McMaster University Medical Center Hamilton, Ontario Canada Massimo Zeviani, MD, PhD Division of Molecular Neurogenetics National Neurological Institute "C.Besta" Milan, Italy Brian Robinson, PhD Program Head – Metabolism Research Institute Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario Canada Anu Suomalainen, MD, PhD Sigrid Juselius Professor of Clinical Molecular Medicine Finnish Centre of Excellence for Research on Mitochondrial Disease and Aging (FinMIT) University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Tanja Taivassalo, PhD Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education McGill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada Sandra R. Bacman, PhD Departmemnt. of Neurology and Cell Biology & Anatomy Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Patrick F. Chinnery, MBBS, PhD, FRCPath, FRCP Professor of Neurogenetics The Medical School Framlington Place Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Annette Feigenbaum, MD, ChB, FRCP Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics University of Toronto Medical Director, PKU Program The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario Canada Eric A. Shoubridge, PhD, FRSC Professor, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Human Genetics Montreal Neurological Institute McGill University Montreal, Quebec Canada Howard Zucker, MD, JD Former Assistant Director General World Health Organization Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Institute of Politics Fellow, Spring 2009 Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Cambridge, MA Rajiv R. Varma, MD Clinical Director Division of Child Neurology Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Pittsburgh, PA Giovanni Manfredi, MD, PhD Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience Weill Medical College Cornell University New York, NY Richard H. Haas, MD UCSD Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center University of California – San Diego San Diego, CA Lawrence I. Grossman, PhD Professor of Molecular Medicine and Genetics Henry L. Brasza Director Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics Wayne State University School of Medicine Detroit, MI Carlos T. Moraes, PhD Department of Neurology and Cell Biology & Anatomy Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Miami, FL Eric Schon, PhD Professor of Genetics and Development College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University New York, NY Devin Oglesbee, PhD Assistant Professor Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Medical Genetics Co-Director, Biochemical Genetics Laboratory Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN Grazia Isaya, MD, PhD Consultant and Professor Director, Mayo Medical Scientist Training Program Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Arun Srivastava, PhD George H. Kitzman Professor of Genetics Chief, Division of Cellular and Molecular Therapy Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Powell Gene Therapy Center Assistant Director, General Clinical Research Center Cancer and Genetics Research Complex University of Florida Gainesville, FL Gregory M. Enns, MB, ChB Director, Biochemical Genetics Program Division of Medical Genetics Stanford University Stanford, CA William Craigen, MD, PhD Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Juan M. Pascual, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Departments of Neurology, Physiology Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Neurology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas, TX Antoni Barrientos, PhD Associate Professor Department of Neurology and Cell Biology & Anatomy Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Miami, FL Marni J. Falk, MD Assistant Professor of Human Genetics University of Pennsylvania Director, Mitochondrial-Genetics Diagnostic Clinic The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Mikhail Alexeyev, PhD Assistant Professor University of South Alabama Mobile, AL Francisca Diaz, PhD Research Assistant Professor Department of Neurology Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Miami, FL Konstantin Khrapko, PhD Associate Professor of Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Medical School Boston, MA Stephen P. Hersh, MD, DLFAPA Director, The Medical Illness Counseling Center Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics The George Washington University Washington, DC Mary Kay Koenig, MD Director - Neurometabolic & Mitochondrial Clinic University of Texas Houston Houston, TX Carla Koehler, PhD Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California – Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Jeff MacKeigan, PhD Scientific Investigator Head, Laboratory of Systems Biology Van Andel Research Institute Grand Rapids, MI Phil G. Morgan, MD Research Director Seattle Children’s Hospital Department of Anesthesiology University of Washington and Children’s Research Institute Seattle, WA Jodi Nunnari, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology University of California - Davis Davis, CA Thomas W. O'Brien, PhD Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology University of Florida Gainesville, FL Paulo A. Ferreira, PhD Professor Jules and Doris Stein Research to Prevent Blindness Departments of Ophthalmology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC Oleh Khalimonchuk, PhD Departments of Biochemistry and Internal Medicine Health Sciences Center University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT Beverly A. Rzigalinski, PhD Professor of Pharmacology Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine Blacksburg, VA Brett H. Graham, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Margaret Sedensky, MD Director of Research Training Department of Anesthesiology University of Washington Seattle, WA Linda L. Spremulli, PhD Professor of Chemistry University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC Robert S. Weiss, PhD Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics Department of Biomedical Sciences Cornell University Ithaca, NY
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