Following SOLVE FSHD’s recent launch, the organization announced the appointment of Dr. Eva Chin as Executive Director.
SOLVE FSHD’s Founder, Chip Wilson of Lululemon fame, has committed US$100 million to find a cure for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a disease he was diagnosed with at the age of 32.
As inaugural Executive Director for SOLVE FSHD, Dr. Chin will be responsible for “aligning the organization’s goals with the expertise of researchers, scientists and companies to promote and fund the discovery and development of new therapies for FSHD,” according to a statement.
“Dr. Chin’s experience and specialization in rare neuromuscular diseases add immense value to our organization,” said Wilson, who has a very specific goal: “We are excited to gain her expertise and guidance to achieve the organization’s goal of finding a cure for FSHD by December 2027.”
Within just a few weeks of the organization’s launch, SOLVE FSHD has “received a tremendous response to the call for qualified grant applications and new therapeutic technologies, which will be reviewed under Dr. Chin’s leadership,” according to Wilson, who added that she has “worked tirelessly to build strong industry alliances for SOLVE FSHD, closely assessed the exciting projects to fund and facilitated collaborative funding opportunities across the academic and industry sectors in FSHD research and drug development.”
Dr. Chin obtained her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Waterloo in Canada and completed post-doctoral training in Australia and the US, focusing on “intracellular calcium in muscle fatigue and transcriptional regulation of gene expression in muscle fibre type determination and muscle plasticity.”
“I am honoured to join the Solve FSHD team, supporting Chip and the Wilson Family in our mission to improve the quality of life for those affected by rare neuromuscular diseases by funding qualified research projects and pre-clinical and clinical research that will accelerate finding a cure for FSHD,” she said.
Solve FSHD’s venture-philanthropic funding model will enable the organization to be financially self-sustainable through return on investments. The investments in viable—albeit high-risk—research opportunities may generate a continued re-investment stream into the organization to further support grant funding initiatives.
Scientists, biopharma companies, muscular degeneration specialists, and researchers working in muscular dystrophy fields are all encouraged to contact Solve FSHD, according to Wilson.
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