Research into cystic fibrosis netted an additional boost on Wednesday, March 25 when Frank & Steins Pub & Grub, a Guelph pub and eatery, donated $1,000 toresearch underway by Drs. Sarah Wootton and Jondavid de Jong in Pathobiology.
The Guelph restaurant committed $1 for every save by the Guelph Gryphons Men’s Hockey Team goalies.
Left to right: Dario Di Renzo and Chuck Nash, co-owners of Frank & Steins Pub & Grub, Andrew D’Agostini, goalie with Guelph Gryphons Men’s Hockey, Dr. Jondavid de Jong, Dr. Sarah Wootton.
Guelph Gryphons goalie Andrew D’Agostini with the Men’s Hockey Team, started a “Saves for CF” program when he played in Peterborough after meeting a young fan there who has CF. He asked to continue the program when he joined the UofG hockey team.
The total saves by Gryphon’s goalies were 855, but Frank & Steins committed $1,000, says Dave Easter, Manager of Marketing & Communications, UofG’s Department of Athletics. “We saw this as an excellent opportunity to keep the donation on campus and support research at the UofG.”
“We are delighted and honored to use this donation to further our research,” says Wootton.
Cystic fibrosis is caused by inherited mutations in the gene encoding the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator and is one of the most common recessive disorders, says Wootton. Although the disease affects multiple organs, it primarily affects the lungs.
“Its recessive nature, as well as the easy accessibility of the lungs to inhaled gene therapy agents, makes cystic fibrosis an excellent candidate for gene replacement therapy,” she adds. “Here we propose a research program directed at the development of gene therapy vectors to “functionally cure” individuals with cystic fibrosis.”