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BabelFAmily is non-profit organization headquartered in Spain (CIF: G-85711513). We are a worldwide group of volunteers that unite our skills to support the greater FA community of patients, doctors, researchers, scientists and associations in their mission to find treatments and a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia.
Friedreich’s ataxia is a hereditary, progressive, neurological disorder characterized by serious disruptions in balance, movement and muscle coordination. FA is typically diagnosed in childhood between the ages of 5 and 15. Symptoms include: fatigue, loss of reflexes, aggressive scoliosis, possible heart condition or diabetes, loss of balance and coordination, slurred speech and vision impairment.
Activities promoted by BabelFAmily
• Encouraging and supporting the financing of biomedical research to find treatments and a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia through partnerships and co-funding initiatives;
• Facilitating information exchanges globally and building links between FA patients, doctors, and the scientific community for improved care;
• Serving as a centralized resource to link FA associations internationally;
• Creating ongoing awareness to ensure Friedreich’s ataxia is known and understood worldwide;
• Providing a constant flow of information and news, in multiple languages, to patients and families regarding conferences, meetings, research projects, and clinical trials.
The BabelFAmily website www.babelfamily.org currently supports 10 languages (English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Swedish and Arabic). This multilingual approach lets us reach new communities and individuals who did not previously have access to information about Friedreich’s ataxia.
Growing this community opens to the door to create new networks with a broader reach to support FA-related efforts worldwide. This need to overcome language barriers is why the BabelFAmily project started out as a multilingual mailing list in 2006 and has grown from there into an established non-profit. The project grew from the desire to share information, scientific as well as other types, in a more global way.
BabelFAmily’s board members and volunteers continue the work of international advocacy with representation from different nationalities to offer a wide range of views, news and contacts. Additional tools like newsletters and social channels further support members of the FA community. Visit us on:
BabelFAmily wants you to know that you can now make donations online to support research into Friedreich's ataxia. Click on the red PLEASE DONATE button found on the home page, near the upper right corner. You can also donate to BabelFAmily with a bank credit transfer made out to BabelFAmily Association: IBAN: ES81 0049 4429 8925 9000 6013 - SWIFT: BSCH ES MM
Association Statutes (summary)
- BabelFAmily is set up as a non-profit association, under the protection of the Spanish Organic Law 1/2002, from March 22 and complementary rule, with judicial personality and full capacity to work. BabelFAmily is independent of any other association of Friedreich´s Ataxia patients and likewise does not represent any other association.
- BabelFAmily´s scope of action is international, with headquarters at C/ Monte Peñalara, 16 – 28660 Boadilla del Monte - Madrid - Spain.
- Collaboration within BabelFAmily is given on a voluntary basis. The Board of Directors, advisors, translators, and other collaborators do not receive any type of remuneration.
Scientific Advisory Board
The mission of the Scientific Advisory Board consists of facilitating decision-making concerning the financing of the most promising biomedical research projects.
Dr. Salvatore Adinolfi - Dr. Adinolfi´s scientific interests focus on neuro- degenerative genetic disorders associated with trinucleotide expansion in the non-coding regions. In particular he has been working on frataxin, a small mitochondrial protein associated with Friedreich’s ataxia. His team uses a multidisciplinary approach to obtain structural information on frataxin and to characterize its function(s) at the molecular level. Recently the group proposed a possible role for frataxins as iron sensors that act as regulators of iron-sulfur cluster formation. Dr. Adinolfi's team believes that a better understanding of the structure-function relationship is essential to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of this disease.
Dr. Filip Lim - Present position: Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain). Undergraduate training in Biological Sciences and PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Adelaide, Australia followed by postdoctoral training in the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Heidelberg) and at Harvard University (Children´s Hospital, Boston). His laboratory presently consists of 2 postdocs, 1 technician and 1 Masters student. The team is developing HSV-1 amplicon vectors and using these and other viral vectors to investigate mechanisms of pathology and repair in the nervous system. It currently has three projects active: gene therapy in Friedreich´s ataxia [in close collaboration with the labs of Javier Diaz-Nido (CBMSO, Madrid) and Richard Wade-Martins (Oxford University)]; tau function and role in neurodegeneration [in collaboration with Jesus Avila (CBMSO, Madrid) and Noscira, SA]; human olfactory neural cells for cell therapy and patient-derived cell models.
Dr. Salvador Martínez - Head of Anatomy and Embryology at Miguel Hernández University, Alicante, Spain, and Principal Investigator at the Neurosciences Institute, Alicante. He is working on experimental stem cells and cellular therapy in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and FA. Dr. Martínez plans to apply bone marrow stem cells in spinal ganglia of Friedreich´s ataxia patients. The bone marrow stem cells give off a substance called GDNF (glial-cell derived neurotrophic factor) which acts like a drug on the neural cells, preventing their apoptosis (cellular death). His project could lead to a first-in-class therapy that significantly alters the course of this life-shortening disease. Dr. Martínez has already carried out a phase I clinical trial using autologous bone marrow stem cells on eleven ALS patients, achieving very promising results without adverse side effects.
Dr. Filippo Fortuna - Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Bologna in Italy. His doctoral thesis, entitled “Clinical Characterization of Optical Neuropathy in Friedreich’s Ataxia, and Identification of Possible Genetic Modifiers”, earned a score of 110/110 cum laude. He was awarded cum laude the title of Specialist in Clinical Pathology from the University of Bologna for his thesis entitled “Magnetic Resonance Markers of Neurodegeneration in Friedreich’s Ataxia, and Their Application in a Pilot Study with Tocotrienol”. Dr. Fortuna has participated in numerous medical courses and conferences. He has authored or co-authored a variety of scientific papers published internationally. He himself has Friedreich’s ataxia.
Dr. Pierre Rustin is the Research Director at the CNRS, France’s National Center for Scientific Research. Dr. Rustin specializes in mitochondrial diseases (among them Friedreich’s ataxia), which are diseases resulting from deficient energy production by the mitochondria in the cells. He directs a team at Robert Debre Hospital (Paris), drawn from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (or Inserm), and entirely focused on research toward treatments for mitochondrial diseases. Among his current projects is one which, as part of an international network co-directed with Professor H.T. Jacobs of Finland, is looking at using plant genes to counteract the mitochondrial deficiencies in the cells of humans, flies, and mice. Another area of research, overseen by Paule Benit, is seeking therapeutic solutions using Harlequin mice, which have a cerebellar ataxia of natural causes. Finally, relating to Friedreich’s ataxia, Dr. Rustin’s research is focused on the dysfunction of the antioxidant defenses controlled by the Nrf2 factor. The team’s work also includes a practical aspect with the trial of Pioglitazone in Friedreich’s ataxia, piloted by Dr. Isabelle Husson.
BabelFAmily Team
Board of Directors
Mr. Gian Piero Sommaruga (President) Italy
Mrs. Mari Luz González Casas (Vice President) Spain
Mr. Diego Plaza González (Treasurer) Spain
Mr. Christian Georg Peter (Secretary) Germany
Mrs. Marion Eleanor Clark (board member) United States
Mrs. Pamela Rasey (board member) Canada
Mr. Hasan Çiçek (board member) Turkey
Mr. François Saez (board member) France
Translators and collaborators
Gian Piero Sommaruga, Stefania Grasso, Martina Piccoli, Olivia Oddenino, Elisa Ponassi (Italy), MariLuz González Casas, Diego Plaza, Paloma Gómez, Marta Alvarez, Javier Ductor (Spain), François Saez, Henriette Champsaur Amandine Devine, Jean-Vivien Maurice (France), Manuela Andrade, Mario Galinha, Ana Pereira, Fatima D´Oliveira, Joao Pedro Silva (Portugal), Eva Aronelius and Robert K. Huselius (Sweden), Hasan Çicek, Selçuk Kiliç, Esra Çetintas (Turkey), Marion Clark and Tom Sathre (United States), Pamela Rasey (Canada), Christian Georg Peter, Ulrike Holst, Ayse Aktas (Germany), Jürgen Harreiter (Austria), Tatyana Tatyanina (Russia), Mariya Vladichevskaya (Ukraine), Claudia Parada (Mexico), Islam Al Kutaifany (Syria), Alshimaa M. Helmy (Egypt), Danilo Define (Brazil), Rosalba Ciancia (Venezuela).
Webmasters: Diego Plaza and Paloma Gómez (Spain)
The following is a brief introduction to most of BabelFAmily's collaborators:
Marion Clark 
I'm married and the mother of two teenaged daughters, one with FA. We live in the southeastern United States in a small town where I teach.
Pamela Rasey 
I am a business consultant living in Montreal with dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada. My twin sister’s oldest son, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was diagnosed with FA in October 2004.
Tom Sathre
I live a few steps south of Denver, Colorado, USA. I'm a 60-year-old retired computer programmer who started to work in 1964, and was diagnosed with OPCA in 1994.
Gian Piero Sommaruga 
52 years old, single, living in Milan, Italy. I've been fighting against Friedreich's Ataxia since 2004, when the son of my best friend was diagnosed with this disease. I founded BabelFAmily, initially as a mailing list, in 2006.
Mari Luz González 
A married teacher and living in Madrid, Spain. My daughter has FA.
Diego Plaza
25 years old, I live in Madrid, Spain. I have a degree in telecommunications engineering and work as a technical consultant. My sister and a friend of mine have FA.
Esra Çetintas 
I'm 26 years old. I'm a medical translator living in Istanbul, Turkey. I've an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Translation Studies.
François Saez 
I'm 42 years old, and work as a financial controller. I live near Paris and was diagnosed FA 20 years ago.
Henriette Champsaur
I'm married, and my 38-year-old daughter has FA. I live in the Hautes Alpes region in France.
Stefania Grasso
I'm a microbiologist, teacher, and photography amateur from Italy. A friend of mine has FA.
Eva Aronelius 
60 years old. I have Friedreich’s Ataxia and live in Uppsala (Sweden). I’m married and have no kids. The Swedish Ataxia Association started in 2002 and since then I have been its president.
Hasan Çiçek
35 years old. I'm married and have two kids. My sister has Friedreich's ataxia. I have a degree on Biotechnology from the Hacettepe University (Turkey) and a Ph.D from the TU-Braunschweig (Germany).
Paloma Gómez 
I work as a technical consultant and I live in Madrid. I collaborate in the administration and design of the BabelFAmily website.
Christian Georg Peter 
I am 46 years old, German, and live in Madrid where I work in the IT industry. It is a pleasure for me to be part of the BabelFAmily and to collaborate with all of you.
Ulrike Ruiz Holst
Teacher, born in Hamburg and collaborating with the BabelFAmily team as a translator.
Claudia Parada 
33 years old, unmarried. I studied Biochemistry Engineering. I have FA and live in Mexico.
Manuela Andrade 
I'm 34 years old and have FA. I live in Porto (Portugal) and work in a medical clinic.
Fátima D´Oliveira
I'm 39 years old and I have FA. I live in Vale de Santarém, in central Portugal.
Selçuk Kiliç
29 years old, I have FA. I'm an electronics engineer from Izmir, Turkey.
Islam Al Kutaifany 
I have two names. It may seem strange but some people call me Slam and some Lolia. My friends in BabelFAmily know me as Lolia. I’m 22, I have Friedreich’s ataxia and I’m from Syria. I collaborate with this team translating from English into Arabic. I’m interested in ataxia news and every news giving me hope. I hope to walk again.
Tatyana Tatyanina 
I'm 44 y.o. I live near Moscow, Russia. I have FA. I'm married. I have a son who is FA carrier. I'm orthodontist and working at home on the computer. I also collaborate with the BabelFAmily team as a translator.
Alshimaa M. Helmy 
I'm 20 years old, single, living in Cairo, Egypt. I'm a university student in the faculty of Biotechnology with an interest in genetically inherited diseases. I had such a great opportunity to get to collaborate with BabelFAmily as a translator from English to Arabic!
Marta Álvarez
I am 33 years old and I live in Madrid. I have a degree in Art History and I work as Executive Assistant in a Software company.
Ayse Aktas
I am 22 years old and a prospective psychology student at LSBU. I am currently living in Germany.
Danilo Define 
I come from São Paulo, Brasil, and currently live in Vinhedo, a town 75km from the capital. I was born in 1932 and have been a physiotherapist since 1954. I collaborate with BabelFAmily as a translator into Portuguese.
