The Transverse Myelitis Association to Fund the Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelopathy Center for 2002-2003 The Transverse Myelitis Association is pleased to announce the award of a $50,000 grant to the Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelopathy Center for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.  The grant will fund the Research Program Coordinator position at the JHTMC.  The Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelopathy Center was established in October 1999 as a multidisciplinary center dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of Acute Transverse Myelitis (ATM) and to better understanding of the pathophysiology and natural course of the disease.  The Center of Excellence has several explicit goals: To provide expert care and treatment for patients in the acute phase of ATM; To extend the spectrum of care through collaborative management of the disease condition by health care providers from multiple disciplines: neurology, urology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, rheumatology, physical and occupational therapy, neuroradiology, and neurosurgery;    To develop standard diagnostic criteria and work-up for patients based on clinical research to understand the natural course of the disease; To perform clinical and basic science research in order to comprehend the pathophysiology of ATM; To devise novel therapeutic interventions for patients in the acute and convalescent stages of ATM; To coordinate international symposia as platforms for both physicians and patients to interact and share theories and advances in research and management of ATM; and To publish and disseminate the knowledge gained through clinical practice, research and international symposia to community physicians to target recognition of the disease in the community. The JHTMC is the only medical center in the world focused on the treatment of ATM and research on ATM.  Since its inception, Dr. Kerr, the Director of the JHTMC, has cared for hundreds of adult and pediatric ATM patients.  In addition to his own practice at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Kerr also consults with physicians from all over the world to offer care for ATM patients.  The experience and expertise he is acquiring about ATM is invaluable to our community.  As the goals of the JHTMC identify, Dr. Kerr is also committed to disseminating the information he develops at the TM Center through publications, through symposia with other physicians and in educational meetings with ATM patients and their caregivers. In addition to caring for ATM patients, the JHTMC is committed to basic and clinical research on Acute Transverse Myelitis.  Dr. Kerr is involved in numerous ATM research projects.  He is also coordinating a large number of projects involving other physicians at Johns Hopkins and employing a multidisciplinary approach.  Dr. Kerr is also engaged in a large-scale project to encourage ATM research in a consortium of physicians and scientists who will share data and information about the condition.   The existence of the JHTMC has changed the future for the TM community.  What were hopes for our community just a short time ago are now becoming realities.  There is a focused and organized effort to develop the best possible treatments for ATM symptoms.  There is a focused effort to perform research to better understand ATM.  There is a community of physicians and scientists who are energized to find the answers to the many questions that surround ATM.  These physicians and scientists work for institutions around the country and around the world.  The TM Center at Johns Hopkins provides the initiative and the coordination for much of this activity.    Meeting the TMA goals of education, awareness, and advocacy for ATM research have all been intensified and accelerated by the establishment and growth of the JHTMC.  It is absolutely imperative that the Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelopathy Center continue to thrive and expand.  The TMA is committed to that purpose.  The TMA will continue to work closely with Dr. Douglas Kerr and Chitra Krishnan to find funding sources for the JHTMC.  The TMA remains committed to raising funds for the important research projects of physicians and scientists from across the country and around the world that are central to the needs and the hopes of the TM community.

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