Thank you for having our backs and making GivingTuesday 2017 the MdDS Foundation’s most successful one-day fundraiser ever. With help from Facebook and the Gates Foundation, fourteen MdDS warriors raised a record breaking $15,000 in donations for November. As 2017 comes to a close, we wish to show our appreciation for our supporters whether they be MdDS Warriors, or their friends and family. Since the Foundation is an all-volunteer nonprofit with 96% of donations going directly to research and awareness efforts, your support makes a huge difference for those suffering with MdDS. ~ Terri Gibson, Treasurer

The GivingTuesday fundraiser reported on by Terri was a success because of your generosity and the hard work of dedicated volunteers. Every day, these MdDS Warriors work toward the Foundation's mission and welcome new members to the support groups, send out brochures, help educate new medical professionals, and assist with fundraising. These efforts and your support, together, allowed us to reach our goals for raising awareness and funding scientific research this year. Now, as 2017 comes to an end, it is time to examine the accomplishments of the MdDS Foundation and to set new goals for 2018.

Major Accomplishments

Our website was redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up, to better serve both medical professionals and the general public. And you may have seen the article about Mal de Débarquement Syndrome in the Washington Post or heard Dr. Yoon-Hee Cha’s interview on SiriusXM's Doctor Radio. These were all the result of a targeted outreach campaign, made possible by a major directed donation from the Springbank Foundation and your continuous support.

MdDS Research

We are pleased to announce a new collaboration between researchers at Ohio University and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, City. In addition to research at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, OK, this collaboration represents the kind of outside-the-box thinking needed to beat MdDS. [Read more below.]

In 2018, Dr. Cha will move forward with the next phase of her research at LIBR, present at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Conference in Los Angeles, CA, and has been invited to share her work at the International Conference for Vestibular Rehabilitation in Chicago, IL. The inaugural event next summer, sponsored by the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, is a welcome opportunity as physical therapists are often on the front lines working with MdDS Warriors to manage symptoms.

Behind the Scenes

P.S.

MdDS Research Study at Ohio University

Prior clinical research studies at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) provided evidence that MdDS symptoms can be reduced after visualization of stripes moving on a wall while the head is passively moved. A similar optokinetic treatment strategy for reliable, at home use remains to be established. A multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborative team at Ohio University and ISMMS will develop and test a device designed to achieve this goal.

Brian Clark, PhD, will serve as the Principal Investigator with visualization technology and mobile software development by Chang Liu, PhD, at Ohio University. Clinical studies will be performed at Mount Sinai by Mingjia Dai, PhD, and Sergei Yakushin, PhD.

At Ohio University, Dr. Clark is the Executive Director of the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute and Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Chang Liu is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. At ISMMS, Dr. Dai is an Assistant Professor and Dr. Yakushin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology.