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On September 12, 2016, Western Massachusetts Fragile X hosted an educational event in collaboration with Dr. Joel Richter of Mass Medical School. Approximately 140 first-year medical students attended this event that highlighted his research into Fragile X syndrome. The talk explored one of his patients, an adult male with Fragile X syndrome, and his experiences with doctors, researchers, family members and his community.

The doctors shared with the young students that “we feel the need to educate you as future doctors about treating the Fragile X patient and that this disorder affects the whole family.”

Dr. Richter and his colleagues are a recipients of a $9.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Center for Collaborative Research in Fragile X, located at UMass. They focus on the development of more effective treatments through better understanding of the syndrome’s genetics.