Deliver a High Quality
of Standard Care

Partner with Global
Difference Makers

Accelerate Research For
8p Related Disorders

Empower Community

5 year Strategic Plan

Project 8p Achievements

Created the first-ever global patient registry with patient information for clinical-trial readiness.

Presently 550 children have been diagnosed – Estimated to be 500,000+ based on prevalence rates.

Galvanized and inspired a global network of renowned researchers, enlightened doctors and credible medical centers. Funded top research investigators focused on the most promising outcomes and breakthrough treatments.

Designed systems to promote Open Science, accelerate knowledge transfer; and incentivize collaboration—all core to our value system.

Facilitated international conferences, monthly roundtables and Share What Works programs with scientific researchers and medical clinicians. This has allowed families to understand symptoms and prognosis for better care and invaluable coping information.

Creating standards of care for treating 8p (largely unknown about by physicians and healthcare providers) by way of funding a Neurogenetic Multidisciplinary Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Colorado to serve as the model for a Center of Excellence.

Milestones

2025
🤍
Families & Community
  • Launched the 8p Family Welcome Guide, connecting newly diagnosed families with vital resources.
  • Hosted a Community Town Hall to share updates and invite collaboration.
  • Introduced Story Time with 8p Heroes, bringing joy and connection through reading.
  • Raised $50,000 during the 8000 Steps for 8p campaign — uniting families and supporters worldwide.
  • The Twig & Berries Golf Tournament raised $50,000
  • Brought back Caregiver Connect
  • First Official In person 8000 Steps for 8p Event, Boston, MA
🩺
Clinical Care
  • 50+ Heroes seen at CHCO
  • First formal Epilepsy in 8p assessment published
  • Established cortical vision impairment (CVI) prevalence and screening in 8p
  • Completed Disease Concept Model (DCM) and AI DCM Launch
  • Mapped symptoms most impacting quality of life and launching a dedicated severity survey in 2026
  • Characterized Epilepsy medications and their efficacy in 8p
🔬
Science & Research
  • Discovered first 8p biomarker ready for clinical testing
  • Identified key disrupted pathways in 8p, found in at least two independent datasets, and matched them to repurposed drugs to be tested in 2026
  • 8p Brain Atlas completed which identified previously unknown features of 8p
  • Piloted proteomics for biomarkers of brain health, and identified key patterns in 8p
  • Onya Portal Launch: Developed a centralized platform to securely connect 8p data, paving the way for collaboration and new insights.
  • Introduced an 8p Open Data Science Challenge: Invited researchers to accelerate discovery using 8p data, inspiring innovative analyses and new partnerships.
  • Created a stronger, deeper candidate gene list
  • Funded transformative research, including:
    • Dr. Jason Sheltzer: chromosome engineering to restore euploidy.
    • Dr. Matthew Tegtmeyer: identifying top drug candidates and cellular morphology.
    • Unravel Biosciences: expanding our 8p Drug Repurposing List.
  • Complete mitochondrial stress assessment - with next phase started
  • Optimizing pre-clinical modeling of 8p
  • Discovered episignature of 8p
  • Replicated transcriptomic convergence with Down Syndrome and identified epigenetic convergence
  • Established 8p EEG and MRI Bank
  • Metagenomics launched to expand our understanding of gut dysbiosis in 8p
  • Launching metabolomics study in 8p
🌐
Growth & Partnerships
  • Secured new major sponsors: AWS, Pariveda, Comend, and AminoChain.
  • Held an in-person Science Meeting in Atlanta, GA, in collaboration with 5 additional PAGs, strengthening global partnerships.
  • Finalized a bold new Strategic Plan to shape our path through 2028.
  • Hired a Science Program Manager to drive collaboration and scale our impact.
  • Welcomed science interns to our growing research team
  • Brought together 300 attendees through seminar-style gatherings, from Research Roundtables to Town Halls and Caregiver Connects.
2024
  • 40+ Heroes seen at 8p Multidisciplinary Clinic
  • Family & Science Conference with 72.5 hours of content for families and professionals
  • 8p Natural History Study expanded to >200 heroes enrolled with ~850 clinical surveys completed
  • Biorepository expanded to 864 biospecimens across 11 sample types
  • 8p Methylomics dataset added to 8p repository in collaboration with Illumina
  • Restored chromosome balance for 8p biobank cell line
  • Discovery of overexpressed protein in 8p brain organoids
  • Multi-Omics Health Canvas study underway to identify drug targets
  • New strategic partnerships including: Integrated Biosciences, Unravel, Somalogic, Metabolon and Alamya Health via Combined Brain, Religen, Diagnostic Labs
  • Identified gut dysbiosis patterns across 8p
  • Project 8p Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to the Lal Laboratory
2023
2022
  • Research Roundtables For Team Science
  • CRISPR Model
  • Family Retreat & 8000 Steps for 8p
  • Illumina Partners With CNV Commission
  • Reached 1000 Members In Private Facebook Group
  • Mitochondrial Dysfunction
  • Chromosome Therapy
  • 8p Cure Roadmap
2021
  • 1st Clinic Setup
  • Moving Mountains Family & Science Conference
  • Rare Base Repurposing
  • Organoids
  • Chromosome 8p Registry and Biorepository
  • Neuro CNV Data Tool Launched
  • 5 Year Strategic Plan
  • Cell Fate
2020
  • Scientific Advisory Board Formed
  • Genome Assemblies
  • Published Trend Community Voice Report
  • IRB Approval
  • CZI Grant
  • Neuro CNV Commission Established
  • 2nd Virtual Family Retreat
  • Network for Good Donor Management System
2019
  • Website Launch
  • 1st Family & Science Conference, NYC
  • August 8th Chromosome 8p Day
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Sponsored Research With 220 8p Heroes
  • Patient Leadership Board Formed

Formed Nov 2018

Formed Nov 2018

Testimonials

The best part of the conference for me was connecting with other families in person. We have supported each other from afar through Facebook, but to see each other in person was emotional and uplifting.

Maricarmen Luhrsen

8p Mother

Attending the 8p conference was a life changer for us. Meeting fellow families felt like we found our extended family. I left the conference better educated and feeling empowered for our 8p hero’s growth. I can’t wait for the 2021 conference and seeing our 8p family again.

Amber Howland

8p Mother

It is amazing how you can meet a complete stranger, and yet, connect with them on such a personal level. I left the conference truly inspired by all the wonderful families we had met. I wanted to do more and contribute to this empowering community of individuals. 

Kaiti Syversyon

8p Mother

Project 8p Conferences are a vital link to the global 8p community. Connecting with fellow 8p Heroes feels like a family reunion, fostering an intimate bond. The conferences feature insightful speakers sharing cutting-edge research. Each event leaves me more educated and confident in supporting my 8p Hero, Lachlan, on his life journey!

Bradley Swail

8p Parent

Our family is extremely grateful for the growing 8p community..sharing and learning from similar experiences and challenges has really helped us in our own journey.

Rozalyn Gould

8p Parent

The 8p community means a lot to us. When I need some answers, I turn to the 8p family.

Jodie Young

8p Parent

Being part of the 8p community lets me know I am not alone that has to get over these obstacles. By sharing with each other, we can all help each other.

Dominique

8p Parent

It has been so comforting to find connection with families walking the same path. Getting a rare diagnosis feels so isolating, and you have to adapt to completely new expectations for your life. While all our kids are different, it’s such a unique connection of walking into this unexpected and unknown life together.

Mary VanMeter

8p Parent

Being a part of this Lil community means a lot! We learn so much, and we get to vent to other parents, we get to watch all of our children pass up these milestones that we didn’t think could happen. I love my 8p Family!

Sara Moreno

8p Parent

I’m stepping for the community. Virtually linking arms with the family, friends, and caregivers from around the world who understand. It reminds me that we are all not alone. We’re stepping together for our 8p heroes.

Talena VanSword

8p Parent

Project 8p is about pushing past limits: first, our precious grandson Ben, working through his exercises, always ending with a big smile; next his parents, Emma and Matt, gently but ferociously determined to help Ben be all he can be; and of course the teams of therapists, doctors and scientists, all working so hard to make progress. We won’t stop at 8,000 steps. As everyone is pushing their limits, we’ll push ours.

Kathy “Grammar” West

8p Grandparent

At age 4, after many hours of therapy and a spinal surgery, my niece walked for the first time. At almost six, she has learned to get into a standing position without assistance. She is resilient, like her 8p hero friends, who work hard every single day. Their determination is why I will be taking 8,000 steps.

Shae Urban

8p Aunt

Our experience at Children’s Hospital Colorado was transformative for my family in two key areas: personalized, quality care for our 8p hero and meaningful research. The expert team tracked my son’s development and gathered data from multiple 8p individuals, offering hope for a better future—greater understanding, tailored support for my son’s growth, and innovative treatments.

Jen

8p Parent

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.
  • Lead with knowledge from patients. Currently, there is no cure for 8p disorders, nor is there a standard course of treatment.

The Project 8p Foundation (Project 8p) was created in 2018 to:

  • Raise transformative funding for pioneering scientific research into treatments for a complex, rare disease involving 250+ affected genes on the short arm of the 8 th chromosome (8p). Rearrangements of these genes causes significant abnormalities to the entire neurological system, thus all organs and functions of the body– with variance in cognitive functions, gross motor skills, social development and other challenges during infancy, and throughout life;
  • Empower a unified community of 8p patients and their families so they can have meaningful lives today; and
  • Accelerate future treatments, not only for 8p, but potentially for other chromosome-wide diseases as well.