The STAR Foundation Gala will take place in Alpharetta, Georgia on April 30th, 2022 at the Metropolitan Club, and the proceeds from the event will benefit The Salla Treatment and Research (STAR) Foundation. We will have dinner, dancing, a wine pull, and a silent auction. This cause is very important to our family because our sweet 5 year old daughter, Aubrey, was diagnosed with Salla disease in 2017. Salla is a rare degenerative condition where the body is unable to break down Salic acid causing a multitude of debilitating handicaps. Individuals with Salla disease struggle with gross and fine motor skills, digestive issues, intellectual handicaps, seizures, and have a shortened life span. In severe cases individuals with Salla disease pass away in childhood while others don’t survive past early adulthood.

There is no cure or treatment for Salla disease. When STAR was founded back in 2018, we only had a handful of doctors and scientists studying Salla; we are thrilled to now have 45 researchers at 14 different institutions around the world including the NIH, Einstein University, Montefiore Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Orange County! Research has rapidly progressed, and the scientists are already seeing very promising results in just a few short years! Recently, we learned that one of our new hires, Mayra Sabir won the Young Investigators Award - one of the most prestigious awards in the rare disease community! She presented her findings on Salla disease at the World Symposium earlier this year in San Diego, California. With all of these exciting things happening, it is our goal to keep the momentum going by raising the money needed to continue this crucial research.

Our greatest wish is to find a treatment that will reduce the progression of the disease, so our daughter can live a long and fulfilled life. We will recognize our donors and sponsors in a variety of ways such as social media posts, special recognition in our evening presentation, and your business logo on event signage and on our website! The STAR Foundation is a registered charity with a 501 (c) 3 status, so the donation would be completely tax deductible (tax ID 82-5186436.) You can read more about Salla Disease on the STAR Foundation website.  https://www.sallaresearch.org/  

Click here for Aubrey's story https://www.sallaresearch.org/aubrey