Mayo Clinic Announces Dedication of Jeffrey Modell Foundation Diagnostic Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

WHAT: The Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) will hold a dedication ceremony to officially designate Mayo Clinic's Primary Immunodeficiencies (PI) research and practice efforts as a Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies at Mayo Clinic. The JMF Center will provide diagnosis, care and treatment for people with a PI. Of the 50 JMF diagnostic centers worldwide, only 14 are in the United States.

PI patients have weakened immune systems, allowing repeated infections and other health problems to occur more easily. Many people with PI are born missing some of the body's immune defenses, which leaves them more susceptible to germs that can cause infections. "The advantage of the immunodeficiency practice at Mayo Clinic is the ability to draw on multispecialty expertise outside of clinical immunology to meet the specific needs of each individual patient," says Roshini Sarah Abraham, Ph.D., director of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation Diagnostic Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies at Mayo Clinic, and also director of the Primary Immunodeficiencies Diagnostic Laboratory.

"The primary immunodeficiency practice at Mayo Clinic is unique in that it includes independent adult and pediatric immunodeficiency clinics which are equipped to assess and manage both adult and pediatric patients who need evaluation for primary immunodeficiency," Dr. Abraham says.

WHEN: 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009

WHERE: Mayo Clinic Gonda Building, 19-101

JMF is a nonprofit organization that was started in 1987 by Fred and Vicki Modell in memory of their son, Jeffrey, who died at age 15 from complications of primary immunodeficiency. They now have become the largest supporter of academic practice, clinical care, research and patient outreach for primary immunodeficiencies.

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