What Does Walking Across the GW Bridge Have to do with APBD Research?
By Harriet Saxe, APBDRF Board of Directors
June 18, 2020
Dr. Orhan Akman receives Foundation support to study APBD
In a recent conversation with Orhan Akman, PhD — one of our research grant recipients — at Columbia University, I learned that he had been walking across New York City’s landmark George Washington Bridge in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to continue his work. I did a double take at the picture his words created in my mind.
COVID-19 has affected every one of us in different ways. For the APBD community, it threatened the continuity of over four years of research that our Foundation has been funding at Columbia University.
Dr. Akman’s research focuses on exploring and altering the genetic footprint of APBD. His commitment in this unprecedented situation touched me deeply.
News Releases
We are thrilled to announce that our community raised an incredible $201,177 during the 2026 APBD Tour de Friends Rally for Research fundraising campaign, exceeding our original goal of $120,000.
The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) recently awarded the APBD Research Foundation's co-president Dr. Jeff Levenson with the Lifelong Learning & Service Recognition (LLSR). He received this award along with 36 other LLSR recipients during the AGD’s scientific session in Las Vegas, NV on June 27, 2026.
In April 2026, the APBD Research Foundation announced participant recruitment for its APBDRF Drug Repurposing Study initiative in partnership with COMBINEDBrain. We are grateful to the patients and families in our community that have volunteered to provide biosamples to help make this study a reality.
The APBD Research Foundation is pleased to announce the third of our 2025 Rally for Research Pilot Grant Program grant recipients: Rebecca Koch, PhD, RDN at Duke University. Her research project is entitled, Gene Therapy to Treat the Neurophenotype of Glycogen Storage Disease Type IV.
The APBD Research Foundation is pleased to announce the second of our 2025 Rally for Research Pilot Grant Program grant recipients: Mayank Verma, MD, PhD at UTSW Medical Center. His research project is entitled Preclinical Validation and Biomarkers in APBD of a GYS1-ASO Currently in Phase 1 Clinical Trial for Lafora Disease
On behalf of the APBD community, the APBD Research Foundation has responded to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) request for public comments for its recently released draft guidance for the use of the Plausible Mechanism Framework for individualized genetic therapies.
We are excited to launch the 2026 APBD Tour de Friends Rally for Research Fundraising Campaign to raise $150,000.
The APBD Research Foundation is excited to announce an opportunity for you to play a direct role in advancing treatment research. You do not have to leave home to participate.
The APBD Research Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Carol Rosenstock to its Board of Directors.