My Journey with AxD and the Power of Technology

Although I’m not a medical professional or biologist, I’m humbled to be serving on the board of End AxD, participating in scientific conferences, and raising funds to support the scientific testing of promising research on AxD. As a father who simply wanted to understand what was happening to my child, I’ve come a long way.

Our family’s experience with AxD has been daunting, but it has also been a journey filled with hope. I turned to technology, which provided a bridge to connect with the scientific community – a group of individuals I will always be grateful for and in awe of.

The Potential of AI in Revolutionizing Medicine

Beyond its everyday applications, AI has the potential to revolutionize the fields of medicine, genetics, biology, and drug discovery. For instance, Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold, developed in partnership with Isomorphic Labs, could aid scientists in creating new drugs and treatments by understanding and predicting protein folding. Isomorphic Labs is pushing the boundaries of therapeutic research by developing cutting-edge computational and AI methods to accelerate the drug discovery process, which could lead to groundbreaking biomedical breakthroughs and treatments for devastating diseases. Furthermore, Google has introduced an AI co-scientist to help accelerate scientific discoveries and find cures, including for rare diseases like AxD. These tools will enable scientists to make faster breakthroughs, particularly in the thousands of rare diseases thatreceive limited attention and funding.

A Message of Hope and Gratitude

I’m thankful for the many scientists working tirelessly to help families like mine, and I’m glad that Gemini has empowered me to play a productive role in advancing research. I hope that it can do the same for many more people.

How You Can Help

To support groundbreaking research on treatments for Alexander disease, visit EndAxD.org

To learn more about Leukodystrophies, the group of diseases that Alexander disease belongs to, visit ULF.org.

For more information on the science behind Alexander disease, visit the Waisman Center’s Alexander Disease Lab.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend special thanks to: Dr. Amy Waldman, Neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Corina Amor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the Amor Lab team, Pranam Chatterjee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, Albee Messing, V.M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Neuropathology in the Department of Comparative Biosciences, and all the doctors, scientists, and researchers working tirelessly to find a cure.