[acp-status] Status for The Month of January

[Art Mellor]

Accelerated Cure Project informal status for the month of January 2007:

Information on our other mailing lists is at the bottom of this message.

>>> Joining/Leaving Us This Month

o Deb Frattaroli, our long-time bookkeeper, is bowing out. Her other
  business has grown as our needs have diminished so we're going to be
  getting Julie to learn the ropes even more. We'd like to thank Deb
  for all her hard work and help over the years.

o Audrey Bedrock, a student at Babson College, will be volunteering for 
  Accelerated Cure Project for a few hours a week over the next month, 
  assisting Sarah with administrative tasks.

>>> Research

Repository:

o We have enrolled 296 subjects to date at five actively collecting sites
o The first recipient of samples from our pilot collection (Oklahoma 
  Medical Research Foundation) has returned its research data to us for 
  inclusion in our repository database
o We have changed the study documents to allow children (under age 18) 
  to participate and are now awaiting approval of these changes from one 
  of our institutional review boards (IRBs)
o We have started planning for the longitudinal phase of the collection
o Volunteer Sue Ropiak has begun looking at how we might store DICOM
  MRI images (that's the standard format)

Other scientific projects:

o Kristin Ardlie of the MIT Broad Institute has agreed to join our 
  Scientific Advisory Board, bio to come soon
o We received the galleys of our HuGE review from the American Journal 
  of Epidemiology, and have sent back what we hope to be the final changes
o Hollie attended a workshop organized by the CDC on the topic of HIPAA 
  and privacy considerations in establishing an MS repository
o Art and Hollie attended a seminar at MIT on gene/environment 
  interactions in disease


>>> Fundraising

o Only $160K left to meet Water Cove Charitable Foundation's $1
  million matching challenge and you can help.

  Make a gift of $1,000 or more and the foundation will match it one
  to one.  Pledge that same gift for 3 years and they'll double match
  it.  If you can't pledge $1,000, gifts of any size always help.  For
  more details contact Melissa O'Shea 781/487-0011 or
  melissa at acceleratedcure.org.

>>> Education

o Video of our Annual Event talks is now available, thanks to
  Brighcove: 
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/video/acp-annual2006.php

o Our web site got a face lift, thanks to Clockwork Design Group Inc.
  Same content and layout, nicer graphics:
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/index.php

o We upgraded our MSNews server software with loads of help from Barry
  Jaspan. It should work basically the same, but there are some new
  features and it is much more stable.
  http://msnews.acceleratedcure.org/

o The Winter 2007 newsletter has been completed.  You can view a PDF
  of the newsletter here:
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/downloads/acp-update-vol0504.pdf

>>> Community Building

o Art and Melissa attended the Kelly Packowski MS Foundation's Casino Night 
  at the Four Season's in Boston.

o Art and Melissa attended another wonderful Biotech Tuesday gathering
  where we met many local biotech researchers

o Sarah attended a DOVA (Directors of Volunteer Administration) meeting to 
  learn new techniques for managing volunteers.

o Sarah, Melissa, and Art had a conference call with Teva to discuss 
  collaborating on a series of educational events this year.

o As always, a few more T-shirt pictures are available:
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/tshirt.php

>>> Events

Detailed information about all of our upcoming events can be found on our 
web site:
http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/calendar.php

o February 25: Row to Cure MS at Agganis Arena at Boston University in
  Boston.  The Sledgehammer Rowing Team is raising funds for
  Accelerated Cure Project by participating in the Crash-B Sprints
  World Championship of Indoor Rowing.
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/eventpages/20070225_crashb.php

o March 2: Dance to Cure MS at The Chateau in Andover, MA.  Deb Dufault is 
  hosting a dance from 7-11pm to benefit Accelerated Cure Project.
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/eventpages/20070302_dance.php

o April 16: Boston Marathon, Hopkinton to Boston, MA.  Join
  Accelerated Cure Project in support of our runners in the
  prestigious 111th Boston Marathon in Boston, MA. Sponsor a runner or
  come to the marathon to help us cheer them on!
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/eventpages/20070416_marathon.php

o April 21: Medeiros Family Fifth Annual Sports Scholarship and MS Fundraiser 
  Party at the Dante Club in Somerville, MA.  Join us for an evening of 
  dining and dancing.
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/eventpages/20070421_medeiros.php

o May 19: Sixth Annual Hunt to Cure MS Scavenger Hunt starting and
  ending in Waltham, MS.  Save the date and start getting your teams
  together for our signature fundraising event of the year.
  http://www.acceleratedcure.org/events/eventpages/20070519_hunt.php

o Thanks to Mike Yashko and the Lee County Bar Association for
  selecting Accelerated Cure Project as the beneficiary of auction
  proceeds from the 2006 Legal Medical Golf Challenge, a doctor &
  lawyer golf tournament that took place in Fort Myers, FL on December
  3rd.

>>> Operations

o We have officially completed 2006 in our records.  Our audited
  financials will be available in June 2007. 
o We will once again have an exhibit booth at the American Academy of
  Neurology's annual meeting.  This year the meeting will take place
  April 28 - May 5 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA.
  Please stop by to visit our booth. 
o We are in the process of finalizing the 2006 annual report.  Watch
  for a notice of its posting to our web site.
o The IRS has finally updated its nonprofit search web site to include
  our new name, Accelerated Cure Project, Inc.

>>> Volunteer Efforts Reported Last Month

o Administration

  Jackie Bollens
  Jane Shapiro
  Joyce Ananian
  Lori Stephenson
  Stephanie Sisto

o Boston Marathon 2007

  Holly Tobin

o Community Building

  Jane Shapiro

o Dance to Cure MS 2007

  Deb Dufault

o Donor Database Project

  Dave Kaffine

o Letter Writing Campaign

  Phyllis Baron

o Personal Appeal

  Pat Phelps

o Public Relations

  Randi Cohen

o Repository MRI Project

  Sue Ropiak

o Row to Cure MS 2007

  Ernie Parizeau

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