Announcing a New Research Partnership

The Mitchell and Friends Foundation is excited to announce the establishment of a research fund dedicated to supporting physician-scientists at Washington University School of Medicine who are committed to investigating Mitchell Syndrome, in the hopes of one day finding a treatment and eventually a cure for this devastating disease.

Since the formation of The M&F Foundation in the fall of 2021, we have focused on providing support to the small but growing number of families with children diagnosed with this ultra-rare genetic neuro-muscular disease. Alongside our efforts at connecting with families, the doctors who diagnosed and treated Mitchell Herndon for the newly named “Mitchell Syndrome” have continued to investigate his illness, hoping to identify treatments—even more than two years after his death.

Building an infrastructure to support this work requires significant financial resources. Thus far, research has been done as time and resources allow by researchers working to honor Mitchell’s legacy. As you can imagine, that work is slow-going.

To aid the cause and accelerate this important research, The M&F Foundation has agreed to raise $150,000 over the next two years. Washington University has established the Mitchell Syndrome Fund, to be managed by Dr. Robert Bucelli, Mitchell Herndon’s adult neurologist. Dr. Bucelli will be overseeing the Wash U team conducting the research.

This investment will help support the dedicated investigation into Mitchell Syndrome by physician-scientists whose objective is to compile data from existing Mitchell Syndrome patients, test new medicines and treatments, and pursue publication of their findings. We anticipate that this research will better position investigators to apply for larger grants and funding from government sources and pharmaceutical companies. The road to an effective treatment for Mitchell Syndrome will be a very long one, but it starts here.

We are thrilled with this development, and grateful to the Washington University community for seeing an opportunity to serve families and promote an important line of research into rare, genetic, neuro-muscular illnesses. We believe the research may not only help families looking for treatments but will have far-researching benefits for people with related genetic illnesses.

If you’d like to learn more about this new initiative, click HERE to be redirected to our Research page.