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Thursday, January 13 2022
Press release

CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre’s Karine Doiron to be Presented with $20,000 Research Grant at Uplifting Athletes Young Investigator Draft

Dr. Doiron Among Nine Researchers Named to 2022 Draft Class by Nonprofit Organization Serving the Rare Disease Community

MONTREAL, January 13, 2022Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the Rare Disease Community, has selected Karine Doiron, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dr. Serge Mcgraw Lab, at CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, for its 2022 Young Investigator Draft Class. Dr. Doiron is among only nine emerging scientists from across North America who will receive a $20,000 unrestricted grant for rare disease research when Uplifting Athletes hosts the fifth annual Young Investigator Draft presented by global therapeutics leader CSL Behring. At the event, scheduled for February 5, 2022, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Dr. Doiron and the entire 2022 Young Investigator Draft Class will be celebrated with a level of fanfare typically reserved for elite athletes, several of whom will be in attendance. The event will also be livestreamed on Uplifting Athletes’ website and social media channels.

The Young Investigator Draft is inspired by the NFL Draft, but shifts the focus from the selection of emerging talent on the football field to recognizing the next generation of promising young medical researchers in the rare disease space. It is one of several signature initiatives created by Uplifting Athletes to raise awareness and research funding for rare diseases, which affect one in every 10 individuals in the US.

“Our Young Investigator Draft shines a spotlight on the critical need for rare disease research and supports the vital work of those who are making a difference,” said Rob Long, Executive Director, Uplifting Athletes. “With each Draft Class, we welcome to the team a new group of brilliant young researchers who will move us ever closer to finding treatments and potential cures for the world’s rarest diseases. Dr. Doiron is incredibly deserving of this recognition and certain to make an impact in the Rare Disease Community.”

Grant submissions for the Young Investigator Draft are thoroughly evaluated by an expert panel of scientific advisors prior to the selection of each year’s Draft Class. Every researcher is nominated by a patient advocacy organization (PAO) recognized by Uplifting Athletes as a priority partner, with grants equally co-funded by Uplifting Athletes and the nominating PAO. The PAO nominating Dr. Doiron is TBRS Community.

Over the past four years, the Young Investigator Draft has awarded more than $440,000 in grant funding to 25 rare disease researchers across North America. At the 2022 Draft, when an additional $180,000 in grants are awarded to nine young scientists, those numbers will rise to a total of $620,000 presented to 34 researchers. CSL Behring, the global leader in treating rare and serious diseases, has served as the title sponsor of the Draft since year one.

“Like Uplifting Athletes, CSL Behring is committed to advancing rare disease research,” said Kevin Kovaleski, Vice President, Global Commercial Development, Transplant, CSL Behring. “Both of our organizations keep rare disease patients at the center of everything we do. And a crucial component of that is supporting innovative research. We’re excited to join Uplifting Athletes once again in celebrating this next group of grant recipients.”

Read more about Karine's research interest!

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About the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre

CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre is a leading mother-child research institution affiliated with Université de Montréal. It brings together more than 210 research investigators, including over 110 clinician-scientists, as well as 450 graduate and postgraduate students focused on finding innovative prevention means, faster and less invasive treatments, as well as personalized approaches to medicine. The Centre is part of CHU Sainte-Justine, which is the largest mother-child centre in Canada and second pediatric centre in North America.

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About Rare Diseases

A rare disease is defined as one that impacts fewer than 200,000 Americans annually. These diseases are often chronic, progressive, degenerative and life-threatening. Collectively, there are approximately 7,000 rare diseases affecting more than 30 million Americans—one in every 10 individuals. More than half are children, 30 percent of whom will not live to see their fifth birthday. Unfortunately, research for rare diseases is extremely limited due to the lack of financial incentive to develop and market new treatments for small populations.

About Uplifting Athletes

Uplifting Athletes aims to inspire the Rare Disease Community with hope through the power of sport. The nonprofit organization engages student and professional athletes in realizing the impact of using their own powerful platforms to give voice to the 30 million Americans diagnosed with rare diseases. With the support of 26 collegiate chapters led by student-athletes, including 25 men’s football teams and one women’s soccer team, and more than 80 ambassadors from across America’s professional sports leagues, including representatives from the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), Uplifting Athletes has raised more than $5 million toward its mission since it was established in 2007. Programs include Rare Disease Awareness, Rare Disease Research, Uplifting Leaders and Uplifting Experiences, with several signature initiatives falling under these banners. To learn more, visit upliftingathletes.org.

About CSL Behring

CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients’ needs by using the latest technologies, we discover, develop and deliver innovative therapies for people living with conditions in the immunology, hematology, cardiovascular and metabolic, respiratory, and transplant therapeutic areas. We use three strategic scientific platforms of plasma fractionation, recombinant protein technology, and cell and gene therapy to support continued innovation and continually refine ways in which products can address unmet medical needs and help patients lead full lives.

CSL Behring operates one of the world’s largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX:CSL;USOTC:CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 25,000 people worldwide, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 100 countries. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit Vita CSLBehring.com/vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSLBehring.

For information

Tracy Simon   
267.679.2774
tracy@tlsimonpr.com                    

Barbara Link
610.668.2855
barbara@linkink.com

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