Today, I talk with Annabelle Hall, the founder of Propel a Cure, a nonprofit organization raising funds for promising research projects aimed at identifying the cause of Crohn’s disease and ultimately discovering a cure. Propel a Cure distinguishes itself for its targeted approach, focusing exclusively on innovative research that drives progress toward this goal. They have become a leading and widely recognized organization in the IBD community. The organization was born from a deeply personal experience when Annabelle’s child was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, fueling her commitment to making a difference for those affected by this condition.
“Propel a Cure was born out of frustration with the status quo. “Lifelong, no cure, unknown etiology” were unacceptable. For most patients and their parents, it is gut wrenching to hear. And to many, it seems little progress has been made to put these words into the past tense. Instead of standing back and lamenting about the lack of progress, I, a parent of a patient, took the plunge, acted on my frustration and created the nonprofit.
The time was NOW to make a change, encourage innovative thinking and raise funds to support promising projects.
I knew I had to raise some initial funds for people to take Propel a Cure seriously. So, I decided to hold a gala. I did it by myself. It took a year to organize, and I ran into numerous roadblocks, but I was a determined momma bear, and nothing was going to stop me. With those funds I managed to attract the attention of some of my board members and they joined my efforts and together with the help of a couple of scientists we funded our first project. Our mission is quite simple: Our goal is to raise funds for promising projects that will bring us closer to understanding the cause of the disease which potentially will lead us to a cure,” Annabelle said.
Propel a Cure has funded reseach projects to date, and in February of this year, supported an important project at Promakhos Therapeutics. This research aims to develop a new class of a non-immunosuppressive molecule for Crohn’s disease, offering a new paradigm in treatment approaches. Annabelle emphasizes that this research project aims to make a profound impact on improving the quality of life for patients.
“We are funding a very exciting project that promises to clarify the mechanisms underlying the innate immune deficiency that we see in nearly all Crohn’s patients. Once defined, therapeutics will be created to restore this deficiency, relieving patients of the enormous burden of disease and enabling them to live normally.
We have a lot of hope that the project at Promakhos will get us significantly closer to a cure.”
Over the years, Propel a Cure has established strong relationships with esteemed scientists and clinicians globally, providing them with valuable insights into both the challenges and positive developments in IBD research. She believes that the primary challenge the field is facing is funding.
“There isn’t enough of it going to promising projects. Technology has greatly advanced in the last 10 years enabling greater discovery, but it is also very expensive. Just samples alone can cost more than $20,000, not to mention the cost of materials. There are a lot of very smart people who have solid, innovative ideas, but they are unable to secure funding to carry out their projects. It is up to small organizations like Propel a Cure to provide seed money so these researchers can start their projects, collect promising data and then go to the bigger funders for future work. “
The positive developments in IBD research include the emergence of organizations that are working on innovative projects. “There are some great organizations that are encouraging innovative work and funding great projects but there aren’t enough of them. Funding is the number one difficulty and the lack of it slows progress. The more scientifically viable projects we can fund the faster we will get to a cure,” she said.
Recognizing the urgency and burden of IBD, Propel a Cure’s determination to drive progress has made them a beacon of hope for many patients and caregivers in the IBD community. “We are quite active on social media. We have a very informative quarterly newsletter that goes out to everyone who signs up. We also strive to keep our followers informed about the most current research through our video series, where we interview scientists and clinicians about their work. We strongly believe that these videos bring hope to patients and caregivers.”
Annabelle expresses her deep gratitude for the scientists and clinicians who participate in their extensive video research series. Through this initiative, Propel a Cure aims to bridge the gap by making complex research accessible and bringing more innovative research to the forefront. She highlights the importance of communication between patients, caregivers, and the scientific communities, noting,
“Patients are desperate to know what is being achieved and if progress is being made.”
Engaging scientists can be challenging, as they are often busy and must simplify complex findings for non-scientists. She proposes intensifying efforts and collaboration between scientists and the patient community to further address this key need. “It really boils down to conveying to scientists how much we need to hear about their work.”
In addition, Propel a Cure actively engages in fundraising efforts. “Of course, we also fundraise through calls for donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, and actively seek contributions on Giving Tuesday in November,” she mentions. Annabelle encourages anyone with questions to reach out at info@propelacure.org.
Looking ahead, Propel a Cure is optimistic about the future. They firmly believe in the importance of their funded research project at Promakhos and remain hopeful about advancements in other research areas as well.
“Some emerging trends we are hopeful about include microbiome research leading to a new understanding of the microbiome and how it can be manipulated to treat IBD, the availability of organoids to facilitate research, chemical engineering applications in IBD research, the use of AI to gain new insights into disease patterns, and the use of personalized medicine.”
To achieve a future without IBD, we must come together as a community to support and advocate for increased research funding. Equally important is giving greater visibility to key ongoing research initiatives, which is essential for driving progress toward a cure. Annabelle encourages supporters therefore to follow them on social media and to share their posts to help spread the word.“Anyone who would like to help us reach more people and raise awareness and funds for innovative research can contact me at info@propelacure.org. There are so many different ways to get involved in our mission, and we rely on help from people like you to advance better treatments and ultimately find a cure. Whether through volunteering, donating, or advocating, your support is vital to driving progress in this field.”
As the research project at Promakhos is currently ongoing, your support is vital for launching additional studies by other scientists and labs. More than 99% of your donation will go directly to preclinical research. Learn more about Propel a Cure, and please consider donating to their important and incredible cause here.