A longtime Cresskill, New Jersey, executive, David Kushner serves as president of Paradigm Capital Group, where he directs bridge financing transactions across the country. Active in his Cresskill community, David Kushner supports the Juvenile Research Diabetes Foundation, or JDRF.Focused on ending type 1 diabetes (T1D), JDRF is a nonprofit with a strong research focus. In July, several JDRF-funded researchers presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 77th Scientific Sessions conference, which stands as the largest such event in the world. Among the JDRF projects highlighted was a landmark trial of imatinib (Gleevec) that explored the cancer drug’s potential against newly diagnosed T1D progression.Undertaken by University of California, San Francisco, researchers, the phase 2 trial showed the drug to be effective in slowing T1D progression and in working to counter insulin production deficiencies among adults. On average, those who took the medication enjoyed improved beta cell function and required fewer insulin treatments, which points toward new treatment pathways for a challenging disease.
A resident of Cresskill, New Jersey, David Kushner manages equity investments as the president of New York's Paradigm Capital Group. In addition to his work with Paradigm, David Kushner of Cresskill is an avid golfer who participates in the annual Fund to Cure Asthma golf tournament. Asthma is an inflammatory medical condition that causes coughing, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath. Although the cause of asthma isn't known, a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of London found that women who eat excessive amounts of sugar during pregnancy can double their chances of having children who will develop asthma.The researchers, who polled nearly 9,000 pairs of mothers and children dating back to the 1990s, subsequently compared the 20 percent of mothers who consumed more than 5 teaspoons of sugar per day to the 20 percent of mothers who had the least amount of sugar. The results showed that the children of mothers in the top 20 percent had a one in five chance of experiencing asthma at some point in their lives, while the children of mothers in the bottom 20 percent had a one in 10 chance of developing the inflammatory disease. Lead researcher Professor Seif Shaheen said the research team hopes to develop a trial in order to test whether it can prevent asthma by reducing sugar consumption among pregnant mothers.
