Year 1

This year we have created a large number of new SMA lines, developed ways to differentiate them into motor neurons using high content dishes, and begun to analyze the health of the motor neurons over time. We have also submitted a new paper showing that much of the cell death seen in the dying motor neurons is due to apoptosis – a form of cell death that is treatable with specific types of drug. We are now using these new lines to begin setting up screening runs with drug libraries and should be able to start these in the new year of funding.