| Manchester, CT -- For the second consecutive year, Elke Stein, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University in New Haven, has been awarded a Basil O’Connor Starter Research Grant funded by the March of Dimes Connecticut Chapter. This $75,000 grant will help Dr. Stein continue her independent research project aimed at studying the role of a recently identified gene in causing some of the features of Down syndrome, one of the most common genetic causes of mental retardation.
Over the past six decades, March of Dimes grantees have achieved a remarkable track record of lifesaving breakthroughs for babies. One way the March of Dimes seeks to ensure ongoing progress in the fight to save babies is by encouraging some of the nation’s most promising young scientists to commit to careers in birth defects research. This is the goal of the Basil O’Connor Starter Research Grants Program, which the March of Dimes began in 1973. Over 2000 young researchers have received the awards since then. The greater majority have continued research on birth defects, three have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and one is the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Down syndrome, which is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, affects more than 350,000 children and adults in this country. Affected individuals have varying degrees of mental retardation, characteristic facial features and often, heart defects and other health problems. Dr. Stein is studying the role of a gene located on chromosome 21 on nervous system development and exploring the possibility that abnormal functioning of this gene may cause some of the features of Down syndrome, including mental retardation and intestinal abnormalities. Her research may improve understanding of the underlying basis of features of Down syndrome, and possibly lead to ways to prevent or treat them.
Dr. Stein received her doctorate in pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., in 1996. Following this, she did postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt and at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of California and Stanford University in San Francisco. She joined Yale University in 2003.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org. |
