HD Latin American conference, July 2018

Dear all- I am writing to let you know that Factor-H is organizing a medical/scientific/social conference in Barranquilla, Colombia, on July 7 and 8. I am attaching the flyer and agenda in case anyone is interested in attending. It would be great if you can announce the event through your institutions/labs and please pass this on to my friends working with you in your labs. If anyone is interested in attending, I can send a link to the hotel reservation page as well as the link to the registration page (available shortly).

This meeting is not organized or financially supported by CHDI.

The purpose of the meeting is to bring to Latin America news about the latest scientific and medical advances, bringing together people working in these fields as well as professionals working in the care of HD patients, and representatives/leaders of patient associations from Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Spain. The meeting is being endorsed by the National Neurology Association of Colombia, and local physicians are helping with the organization of the event. We plan to show the full documentary of the visit to the Vatican last year, where Latin American families met the Pope in a remarkable event.

The meeting will take place right after the first ever HDYO youth camp in Latin America (July 5 and 6), with 28 youth from those countries participating. After the conference, we plan a medical day helping local HD families from the cluster of Juan de Acosta (traditionally thought of as the second largest HD cluster in the world), on July 9th. After the conference, we will also host the at-risk children being sponsored by Factor-H, a program that is now in its third year. Some of you have provided generous financial support to sponsor those kids, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for your support for this important program. We next plan to start a scholarship fund to help a few youth be able to complete their studies, go to college, or train for a profession, so that they can get out of poverty.

I also wanted people to know that I have initiated the application process for Factor-H to gain 501-3c tax-exempt status in the US. If anyone has any questions about programs or how to help, let me know.

Thanks again for your hard work and for your dedication to finding ways of improving HD families’ lives.

N

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Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuán, PhD.

Vice President, Biology

CHDI Foundation/CHDI Management, Inc.

6080 Center Drive, Suite 700

Los Angeles, CA 90045

Cell +1-310-703-2973

Office +1-310-342-5525