Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Leslie Gehry Prize for Innovation in Science and the Nancy S. Wexler Young Investigator Prize!
We are proud to announce Vanessa Wheeler, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, as the winner of the 2023 Leslie Gehry Prize for Innovation in Science. She will discuss her breakthrough work and share her insights on the future direction of HD research at our Symposium and Gala on October 30 at the Yale Club. We invite you to join us there!
Dr. Vanessa Wheeler’s research on somatic instability laid the groundwork for what has become the hottest topic in Huntington’s disease research this decade, as understanding somatic instability is thought by many leading scientists to be the route to the cure. Well before the term “somatic instability” was on the lips of every HD researcher, Dr. Wheeler was connecting dots related to this biological phenomenon, making connections for how it participates in HD pathology. Dr. Wheeler has been focused on somatic instability as the root cause of HD since the mid-2000s.
Huntington’s disease is caused by a genetic expansion in a gene called huntingtin. When the expansion reaches a certain threshold, the person carrying that expansion will go on to develop HD if they live long enough. Over time, the expansion within the huntingtin gene increases in certain areas of the body – notably, the brain. This biological phenomenon of an increase in genetic expansion is called “somatic instability.” Scientific data now suggests that somatic instability is needed to trigger brain cell death in HD.
The Leslie Gehry Prize honors the memory of Leslie Gehry, the late daughter of HDF Founding Director and acclaimed architect Frank Gehry. The prize honors Leslie’s memory and recognizes scientists who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of Huntington’s disease research. It is presented annually to recognize an outstanding scientist whose originality, spontaneity, precision, and rigor have advanced the search for treatments and cures for Huntington’s disease and other brain disorders.
We are equally proud to announce Chiara Scaramuzzino, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Grenoble Institute des Neurosciences in France, as the winner of the 2023 Nancy S. Wexler Young Investigator Prize.
Dr. Scaramuzzino carried out her postdoctoral training with Dr. Frederic Saudou, investigating communication between brain cells using microscopic chips that mimic circuitry in the brain. She recently accepted an independent position and is focused on defining molecular mechanisms underlying the breakdown of brain cell communication in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington’s.
Communication amongst brain cells is critical for a healthy brain. In Huntington’s disease, communication signals break down between two key brain structures that are the most affected by this disease, the cortex and striatum. Normally, these brain regions can send each other molecular messages, called neurotropic factors, that aid in the survival of brain cells. In HD, neurotropic molecular messages from the cortex don’t reach the striatum, causing brain cells in the striatum to die. Dr. Scaramuzzino’s work uncovered that the striatum-to-cortex communication loop is also impaired in HD. She aims to restore transmission of these fundamental neurotrophic molecular messages to restore communication between brain regions in HD.
The Nancy S. Wexler Prize honors the pioneering spirit, relentless dedication, and enduring optimism of Nancy S. Wexler, PhD, President of the Hereditary Disease Foundation. It is presented annually to an early career researcher whose work reflects the highest caliber of excellence, diligence, and creative thinking.
Congratulations to Dr. Wheeler and Dr. Scaramuzzino!