Dr. Marc Lalande recalls the day he received a phone call from a woman in Canada whose two sons were born with Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder occurring in approximately 1 in 15,000 births causing difficulty of movement, cognitive problems, epilepsy as well as other symptoms.
“Despite the many challenges in raising two young boys both afflicted with this disorder, she remained upbeat and determined to contribute in any way possible to research that would advance our knowledge about the underlying cause of Angelman syndrome,” Lalande said.
He described his team’s work on turning skin cells into stem cells and how this technology would allow for the production of live brain cells in a petri dish that would carry the Angelman syndrome genetic mutation.
The woman immediately volunteered to have her sons provide a skin biopsy as a source of stem cells.
Lalande recalls thinking he wouldn’t see the cells for anywhere from six months to a year.
They arrived just three weeks later.
“I gave these cells my full attention over the next few weeks since, in the face of this mother’s courage and determination, failure was not an option,” he said. “We have since generated the stem cells bearing this Angelman syndrome mutation.”
A professor and chair of the Genetics and Developmental Biology department, and director of the Stem Cell Institute at UConn Health Center, Lalande has helped position UConn as a leader in the field of regenerative medicine and has been instrumental to the development of a new state-of-the-art Cell and Genome Sciences Building to be built adjacent to the health center.
“I thoroughly enjoy trying to understand the mysteries of genetics and, hopefully, contributing to a better human condition,” says Lalande.
Barbara Glassman Dell, a marketing & communications consultant with the MetroHartford Alliance, has firsthand experience with Lalande’s devotion and passion.
At just four-weeks old, Glassman Dell’s son, Gabriel, was rushed to Connecticut Children’s Hospital with pneumonia and hospitalized for a month in the NICU. At six months, he was hospitalized again with seizures.
At twelve months, Gabriel was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome by a geneticist at UConn Health Center.
One fortuitous day, while shopping in West Hartford Center, Glassman Dell’s husband noticed a man wearing an Angelman Syndrome Foundation baseball cap.
It was Lalande.
“My husband stopped him to ask about his cap and our hearts nearly stopped when he began telling us about his research and fellow colleagues at UConn,” she recalls.
Although he is not able to walk and doesn’t speak, Gabriel, now five-years old, is a happy, affectionate boy who enjoys going to kindergarten. His seizures have been problematic, but are controlled with medication. He enjoys music therapy and his high school pals from Friendship Circle, who come and play every Wednesday afternoon.
“Each day, I work with an amazing group of people who wish for nothing else than to recognize the innovative and talented people who chose to live and work in Greater Hartford,” Glassman Dell said.
“Dr. Lalande is one of those people.”
STATS
Name: Marc Lalande
Title: Chairman, Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology
Workplace: University of Connecticut Health Center
Address: 1263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington
Website: www.uchc.edu
