ISMRD has been fortunate to achieve a few notable milestones through the hard work and dedication of the members of our Board of Directors, past and present; an empathetic and sincere group of scientists and medical professionals and a concerned and proactive group of families from many different countries. Without the three groups working as a team, ISMRD would not be in its present position of being the world's most prominent advocate for Glycoprotein Storage Diseases.

Among our most significant achievements have been the following listed below. To learn more please follow the links to a more detailed account about the highlights of each.

Crossing Oceans For A Cure

ISMRD hosted a joint Family Workshop and Walk-Run benefit fundraiser in Ann Arbor, Michigan April 22-23, 2005. The workshop was attended by families affected by Alpha-Mannosidosis, Mucolipidosis II and Mucolipidosis III. It was the largest such gathering to that date of Mucolipidosis families anywhere in the world, with attendees coming from as far as New Zealand and Europe. The Walk-Run benefit the next day was ISMRD's most successful to date and raised over $40,000 for our services, programs and research objectives.

The 1st International Scientific & Family Conference on Glycoprotein Storage Diseases

The word's first International Scientific and Family Conference on Glycoprotein Storage Diseases, held April 1-4, 2004 in Rockville, Maryland USA.  This conference, sponsored by the National Institute for Neurological Diseases & Stroke, brought together the most prominent scientific and medical authorities on these diseases, as well as the first gathering of families affected by them.  From it came a renewed sense of interest among scientists in the mechanisms causing these diseases, and a new found sense of kinship and purpose for attending families.

The People's Genome Celebration

The People's Genome Celebration held in Washington, D.C. on June 9, 2001.  This one day event centered at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History was a one-day event celebrating the Human Genome Project.  The day was filled with public forums, panels and displays and was capped by the evening premier of a photographic exhibit celebrating people affected by a genetic disease.  ISMRD proudly witnessed two of its children, David Pierce and Taryn Murphy (both affected by Alpha-Mannosidosis), captured in stunning museum-quality prints and displayed in the Museum of Natural History.