Moving Ahead
Gene Davenport and Paul Jones Contribute to Department of Neurology
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| Gene Davenport |
The UAB Department of Neurology is making outstanding advances in the area of movement disorders. Through the Gene and Sandra Davenport Research Fund in Neurology, Gene Davenport and Paul Jones are helping to speed this important research by supporting the work of Ryan Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., instructor in the Division of Movement Disorders and the Division of Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology.
Gene Davenport committed a generous gift to establish the fund, which will allow Walsh to expand his research to benefit individuals with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in addition to those with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other movement disorders. PD and PSP share common features in that both are degenerative brain disorders causing movement and cognitive symptoms in patients. Many of the brain regions affected are similar, and there is need for new treatments that can improve the symptoms or cure the diseases.
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| Paul Jones |
Through the Jones Family Fund, Paul Jones also is supporting the Davenport Research Fund. “The research Paul Jones is so generously supporting is enabling us to make daily progress toward the discovery of enhanced treatment options and eventually a cure for these diseases as we seek to provide enhanced mobility and a greater quality of life for our patients,” says Shirley Salloway Kahn, Ph.D., vice president for development, alumni, and external relations. “We appreciate his generous contribution to UAB.” The Jones Family Fund also has generously contributed to the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center.
“The generous support of the Davenport Fund has allowed me to pursue research at an important time in my young career,” Walsh says. “I am focused on developing MRI-brain imaging tools to better diagnose and treat patients with disorders such as PD, PSP, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is the Davenport Fund’s support at this critical juncture that has allowed me to develop my research, acquire critical preliminary data, and compete on a national level for National Institutes of Health funding. This, in turn, will enable me to continue working on important research throughout my career to help treat patients with PD, PSP, and AD more effectively. I will always be grateful for the generous help provided by the Davenports and Paul Jones at such an important time. This type of funding is what allows a young investigator with promise to become a leader in the field with a lifelong career dedicated to curing neurological diseases and helping patients.”
Maintaining the Momentum / Summer 2010