UT Southwestern has been chosen as one of 25 sites for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials, or NeuroNEXT.
The network will lead clinical trials for brain disease in hopes of making new treatments available faster and minimizing the time and expense of studies. As a result of participation in NeuroNEXT, UT Southwestern expects to receive $1.4 million in NINDS aid over the next seven years.
Large patient population, clinical research experience, and multidisciplinary expertise were the factors that went into play when choosing UT Southwestern, according to NINDS associate director for clinical research Dr. Petra Kaufmann.
For its first study, UT Southwestern will take part in clinical trials to identify biomarkers for spinal muscular atrophy, for which there is no effective treatment or cure.
Dr. Susan Iannaccone of UT Southwestern, who set up one of the disease’s first nationwide trial groups, believes that centralizing efforts through NeuroNEXT will help investigators focus on research and treatment.
