The Cri du Chat Research Foundation

In July 2014, the Cri du Chat Research Foundation (CDCRF) was founded by Megan and JC Leston after receiving the devastating news their son would live his life with this serious, rare genetic disease which carried a very grim prognosis. Devastated, but not defeated, their motivation for wanting more for their child and those like him, drove their efforts to starting a science focused organization to change that trajectory for someone diagnosed with Cri du Chat/5p Minus Syndrome. Through the expansion and new innovations in genetic science, they focused to identify strategies for treatment development that could transform symptoms of this disorder. The roadmap created showed the potential to have an impact far greater than anyone could ever imagine because the critical genes for 5p- syndrome are some of the most key genes for brain development and function.

Mission

The mission of the Cri du Chat Research Foundation (CDCRF) is to accelerate translational research focused on using innovative technologies to develop therapeutics to cure the major neurologic symptoms associated with 5p- syndrome in order to improve the lives and independence level of every child and adult in the world living with this rare disease.

Our organization is committed and driven to achieve these objectives by developing the infrastructure and network of experts needed to pursue an aggressive funding strategy to gain proof of concept evidence for several technologies to then advance to clinical trial development with approvals for human candidates. We hope that the science we are committed to facilitating will also serve as a window into other more common disorders which have association with our targeted 5p- syndrome genes, such as Autism, Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia.

Board of Directors

Indirect Cost Policy

For research grants, the Cri du Chat Research Foundation does not provide indirect costs.

(Policy Adopted 9/12/2022 in organizational bylaws and guidelines)

For questions relating to this policy please contact info@criduchatresearch.org.