2008 Annual Report
The Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) Foundation is proud of the significant progress made this year in furthering our mission. In this Foundation Report, we reflect on the significant growth and impact the KLS Foundation has had since it’s founding in 1999.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS) is a life-alternating illness that mostly affects teenagers and young adults. The focus of the KLS Foundation over the last few years has been on providing information and support to KLS patients and families, helping to educate the medical community about KLS, raising funds, and promoting KLS research programs.
Generating top-quality research interest in a rare illness like KLS is not easy. The KLS Foundation set out to initiate KLS research programs by providing “seed” funding. This has blossomed into larger programs at leading academic and hospital centers around the world, including Stanford University in California, the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel, the University of California San Francisco and the Hôspital Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris. These efforts culminated this past year in Prof. Emmanuel Mignot of Stanford University receiving the first NIH grant for KLS research, a very competitive five-year research award.
The Foundation continues its efforts to raise awareness and share up-to-date information regarding KLS and ongoing research efforts. We continue to look for opportunities to plug into professional networks through conferences and group meetings, to improve the quality of information available and the Foundation website.
The KLS Foundation is committed to supporting those with KLS, to expanding the community’s knowledge and understanding about KLS and to foster further research into the cause, treatment and ultimate cure for KLS.
Our success in the past few years could not have been possible without the tremendous support of our members, their friends and families, and all of the supporters of the KLS Foundation.
On behalf of the KLS Board of Directors we thank you for your generous support.
Neal Farber, PhD Stephen Maier, CPA
Co-President KLS Foundation Co-President KLS Foundation