BIRMINGHAM, AL — The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) two major roles in a new consortium of researchers seeking new therapies for a rare genetic disease, neurofibromatosis (NF).

Jeanette K. Lee, Ph.D., research professor, received the NF Consortium Development Operations Center award and will coordinate the nine participating university research groups, which include one led by Bruce Korf, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the UAB Department of Genetics.

Nationally, the DOD Neurofibromatosis Research Program has awarded $3.2 million to fund the development of the consortium. The initiative grew out of a 2004 meeting, chaired by Korf, that was called to discuss barriers to the development and clinical testing of novel treatments that are critically needed to enhance the quality of life of individuals with NF and their families.

The other eight participating institutions are Washington University, St. Louis; Children’s Hospital, Boston; Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; University of Chicago; University of Utah; and the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

Co-investigators for the NF operations center are Peter Emanuel, M.D., William Grizzle, M.D., Dr. Wenquan Wang, Ph.D., Steven Carroll, M.D., and Alyssa Reddy, M.D., who also is a co-investigator with Korf. Other investigators in his group include Bambi Burns, B.S.N., R.N., and Patrick Packer.

NF is a hereditary condition that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue, producing skin and bone abnormalities. It’s often diagnosed in childhood. As the tumors grow, they can press on vital areas of the body, causing problems in how the body functions.

NF tumors can cause seizures, high blood pressure, scoliosis, speech impairment, optic nerve tumors, early or delayed puberty, and, rarely, can become cancerous.