DownSyndrome Achieves (DSA) is pleased to announce its partnership with Lee Specialty Clinic in Louisville, Kentucky, which will be the first collection site of biospecimen for the organization’s DSA Biobank initiative.
Lee Specialty Clinic is one of only a handful of comprehensive healthcare facilities in the US that serves exclusively adults with intellectual disabilities. Opened in 2014, Lee Specialty Clinic offers a wide array of services in one location to a population that is overwhelmingly underserved.
“We are excited to be a part of this innovative effort to elevate the standard of care for health conditions that co-occur with Down syndrome,” said Matt Holder, CEO of Lee Specialty Clinic. “The biospecimens we collect are crucial to advancing translational research that yields improved diagnostics and therapies for people with DS.”
Located at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the DSA Biobank serves as a national central repository for biospecimens donated by individuals with Down syndrome and their immediate family. It is an open resource to all researchers studying the comorbidities, or other common diagnoses, in people with Down syndrome.
Certain conditions such as congenital heart disease, childhood leukemia and Alzheimer’s disease are more common in patients with Down syndrome than in the general population. Other conditions, including solid mass tumors such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis are less common. Studying these conditions in the context of Down syndrome genomics will likely have implications for everyone.
“Lee Specialty Clinic is recognized leader, both nationally and internationally, in the care of people with intellectual disabilities,” said DownSyndrome Achieves CEO, Lito Ramirez. “We look forward to our collaboration to advance our scientific understanding of DS and improve health outcomes.”
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ABOUT DOWNSYNDROME ACHIEVES
DownSyndrome Achieves is a research advocacy group that envisions a future when Down syndrome comes without health complications so that people with DS can maximize their potential and lead healthier, more active, and independent lives. That is why we developed the DSA Biobank. Located at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the DSA Biobank is the first of its kind to catalog, store, and openly share biospecimens and associated health data for study. Our keen focus on fostering collaboration allows us to provide researchers with the critical biospecimens needed to develop breakthrough treatments and therapies.
ABOUT LEE SPECIALTY CLINIC
Lee Specialty Clinic is a nationally renowned interdisciplinary patient care, teaching and research clinic that is focused on helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities achieve the best possible health outcomes across the lifespan. With a focus on innovation and prevention, we strive to provide well-coordinated and compassionate care to enable our patients to live life to the fullest. Located in Louisville, KY, funding for the Lee Specialty Clinic is provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Kentucky Cabinet Health and Family Services — Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.