2023 FARA Fellows
About the Program
The FARA Fellow Program recognizes young investigators who will commit their early career to Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) research and want to grow their profile within the research community. The program provides a cash award and opportunities to attend scientific conferences. Awardees are postdoctoral trainees who have demonstrated or hold promise for outstanding research achievements in FA.
In 2023, the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) established the FARA Fellow Program with a grant from the Cushman Foundation. The aim is to attract and retain talented young scientists to the FA research field by providing mentorship, training, and networking opportunities.
Program Benefits
- Cash award
- Opportunity to attend scientific conferences
- Invitation to round table discussions with other Fellows
- Opportunity to present at the FARA Forum and FARA Flash Talks
- Contribution to the FA CollaMap, a collaborative map of current FA knowledge
- Monthly activities including a journal club, mentorship program, and community engagement events
2023 FARA Fellows
FARA received several nominations and, after review, awarded the following four junior researchers:
Sujyoti Chandra
Mentor: Xinnan Wang, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA
Dr. Chandra is a 5th-year postdoc studying mitochondrial function and dynamics in sensory neurons derived from FA patient induced pluripotent stem cells. The goal is to identify novel signaling pathways and molecular targets relevant to therapeutic intervention. Dr. Chandra has five first-author publications on pre-clinical testing of candidate drugs for neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Wang describes Dr. Chandra as an exceptionally creative and productive scientist with great leadership potential.
Xiaonan Guan
Mentor: Shawn Liu, University of Columbia, NY
Dr. Guan is a 3rd-year postdoc working on reactivating the FXN gene and rescuing FA iPSC-derived sensory neurons using epigenomic editing tools. She obtained her PhD in Genetics at the Beijing Institute of Genomics and has two first-author publications. Dr. Liu describes Dr. Guan as talented and dedicated, with tremendous potential to become an independent investigator.
Changfan Lin
Mentor: Viviana Gradinaru, Caltech, CA
Dr. Lin is a 2nd-year postdoc focused on engineering adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to evade immune responses and enhance FA-relevant tissue specificity. He was awarded a FARA Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2022 for this work. Dr. Lin obtained his PhD at Cornell University and has three first-author publications. Dr. Gradinaru describes him as a dedicated researcher with exceptional promise for enabling effective gene therapy for FA.
Pouiré Yameogo
Mentor: Marek Napierala, UT Southwestern, Dallas TX
Dr. Yameogo recently completed his PhD, developing a gene therapy approach for FA by deleting the expanded GAA repeat in the FXN gene. He has a first-author FA publication on this work. His postdoctoral research will focus on developing antisense oligonucleotides as therapeutics for FA. Dr. Napierala describes him as deeply knowledgeable about FA and highly driven to develop therapeutic strategies.
Activities and Engagement
The 2023 FARA Fellows met in August 2023 to plan activities for 2023 and 2024, including:
- A journal club to review high-impact FA research papers
- A mentorship program with FA researchers, FARA staff, and industry representatives
- Community engagement events to connect with FA patients and ambassadors
The Fellows attended the rideATAXIA and FARA symposium in Philadelphia in October 2023, where they presented their research and engaged with the FA community. They expressed enthusiasm and motivation after meeting FA families and learning about the latest drug developments.
Future Plans
In 2024, the Fellows will assist FARA in identifying approaches to enrich the FA treatment pipeline. They will review literature, assess potential drug targets modifiable by small molecules, and help prioritize putative treatments for FA.