Some Practical Information

Hello Everyone!  We just wanted to share some some general housekeeping information with you regarding the 2011 National Family Conference. As you know, the conference is being held at the Hilton Garden Inn St. Louis Shiloh/O’Fallon in O’Fallon, Illinois.  The contact information for the hotel can be found below, along with driving directions from Lambert-St….

Genetic Testing Offer

Males Affected by HED Needed for Research Project at the Family Conference!!! Dear NFED Family, In a research collaboration planned for the 2011 National Family Conference, Edimer Pharmaceutical, Inc. will be working with the NFED to characterize skin properties in male siblings affected by HED and unaffected male controls using skin assessment techniques.  As part of…

Gateway to the West

Welcome to the Gateway to the NFED, the first official blog of the 2011 National Family Conference! We borrowed our inspiration for the blog name from the historical (and current) nickname for the city of St. Louis—The Gateway to the West.

The area where current day St. Louis resides was first settled in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and by 1765 the French made St. Louis the capital of Upper Louisiana. The US acquired St. Louis in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase and later the next year used the key location of the city as the launching point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Many other explorers, settlers, and trappers began their expeditions from St. Louis, thereby gaining St. Louis the nickname of “The Gateway to the West.”