As you know, I am so appreciative of all the work our researchers do to try to find a treatment for Kennedy's Disease. During my tenure as president of the KDA, I have had the honor of meeting several of these researchers. These dedicated individuals continue to provide hope that someday there will be a treatment.

Isabella Palazzolo is one of these researchers. Her message below needs to be shared with all of us living with Kennedy's Disease, as well as other motor-neuron diseases.
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Dear Bruce and Ed, and every member of the Kennedy’s Disease Association,

I want to use this email as a means to thank Bruce for his help for my green card application, and wish the best of luck to Ed in this new role. I am sure you will be excellent.

Once again, I would like to send a message of encouragement to each and all of you: as technology and resources become available for scientific research, the time is exciting and full of new discoveries and improvements. In the recent years, rare diseases like Kennedy's disease are investigated not only by academic labs but also by pharmaceutical companies, and this extend the number of scientists that you can count on your team.

I recently joined a pharmaceutical company, working on clinical trial and marketing application of new drugs for Multiple Sclerosis, ALS and, hopefully soon, other diseases of the motorneuron. I speak for my own experience: the patients associations, the interaction with patients, is where myself and most of my colleague find inspiration and motivation everyday.

Nothing like meeting the people at the Kennedy's Disease Association has driven my scientific career, and I would like to send this message of encouragement to all of you: your enthusiasm and your energy is what made me thrive for my PhD. Your interest in our small progresses, and your expectation for a drug yet to come is inspirational in each of my new challenges.

Wish you all happy holidays and merry Christmas,

Isabella
Post doctoral Fellow in Regulatory Affairs – CMC and Manufacturing Sciences
Biogen IDEC