All posts by maria Bagnulo

Research Matters, Stories of Hope

Discovering the unknown in neurological disorders

With an increasing global population and greater life expectancy, the diagnosis of neurological disorders, like Parkinson’s disease is on the rise.

Al Jalila Foundation awarded a research grant to renowned scientist Dr M Emdadul Haque from UAE University to study ‘Parkin in cancer and neurodegeneration: critical role of parkin as E3 ubiquitin ligase and redox molecule’.

Parkin/PINK1 insufficiency may cause accumulation of damaged mitochondria. However, there is no mitochondrial accumulation in patients’ brains and mouse models. The question is simple: is it true that they are removing abnormal mitochondria? “Autophagy” is one of the essentials in life phenomena, especially for cell survival. Insufficient mitophagy produces oxidative stress and energy crisis in cells and finally leads to cell death or cancer. Thus, it is important to question whether Parkin and PINK1 have a central role in conducting mitophagy. In the clinical aspect, they are involved in several major serious diseases that many people are suffering from.

By understanding what is truly happening on the surface of mitochondria around Parkin (and PINK1), the findings will unveil a series of flow which causes dopaminergic cell death and tumorigenesis in cells. The results have the potential to change the notion of “mitophagy process” and provide the cause-directed therapeutic strategy for several major diseases.

Al Jalila Foundation funds promising research to give hope to people and advance cures. To learn more about our funded research please click here.

Stories of Hope

Wendelin runs to ‘get children back on their feet’

Since inception, Al Jalila Foundation has encouraged thousands of motivated individuals and teams to raise funds by taking part in sports challenges. These endurance runs, triathlons, marathons and more have been instrumental to raising awareness and providing hope to patients suffering from chronic illnesses.

One of our greatest athletic Champions of Hope, Wendelin Lauxen, has once again completed the 7 Emirates Run to ‘get children back on their feet’.

In 2010 driven by his passion for running, Wendelin, holder of Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest time to complete a marathon on all 7 continents’, ran 575 kms solo across the UAE in 12 days. A chance meeting in 2013 with a little boy with severe congenital limb deformities and the allure of the UAE’s landscape inspired Wendelin to launch the 7 Emirates Run in partnership with Al Jalila Foundation.

Wendelin has organised the 7 Emirates Run under the slogan “Run for Help, Run for Health, Run for Fun”, and over 7 years has raised an astonishing AED 1.5 million for Al Jalila Foundation, to support life-changing surgery and postoperative medical support for children who suffer from deformities or amputation.

Giving children the gift of mobility is all the reward Wendelin could hope for, however, on completion of his recent solo 7 Emirates Run, he was recognised by the Dubai Sports Council for extraordinary athletic achievements and charitable endeavours.

Stories of Hope

Parent develops skills to empower child of determination

Through the Ta’alouf Parents Training Program, Al Jalila Foundation works to empower parents to bring out the greatest potential in their children of determination.

Although 2020 was a challenging year and parents training was held virtually, parents like Rola were only too eager to jump on the opportunity to enroll as with her usually very demanding schedule she was able to attend at home.

As a mother of a child of determination, Rola had adapted to life and developed her skills to better care for her son, understand his needs and build on his strengths to bring out his greatest potential. The Ta’alouf program solidified her understanding and put a great deal of attention on many new helpful tools and strategies that she had not yet discovered. Not only that but she now understood completely how and why these tools would benefit both her son and her family.

Rola expressed: “The experience was fun and rich with information for parents, during which I discovered that no matter how different the diagnosis is, there are some things in common between the children of determination. I also benefited from the program by learning the different ways to deal with people with autism spectrum disorders and understanding there are different levels of these disorders”.