Amanda Ignacz: Strengthening neuromuscular disease research through NIH award

The National Institutes of Health awarded University of Maine Ph.D. candidate Amanda Ignacz the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award for her work with neuromuscular disease. 

This nationally competitive award honors and invests in pre-doctoral students by helping them obtain research training while conducting their dissertation research. 

Enrolled in the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering’s biomedical science program and advised by Clarissa Henry, director of the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), Ignacz’ research focusses on a zebrafish model for dystroglycanopathies, a rare form of neuromuscular disease. 

Her own interest in neuromuscular disease and its progression stems from the loss of her younger brother, who passed away from complications with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Through her research, she hopes to help identify driving mechanisms of neuromuscular disease progression and develop therapies that can improve the lives and outcomes of people diagnosed with it.

While the award is a recognition of Ignacz’ potential as a researcher, it will also help fund training opportunities and attendance to conferences, such as the Gordon Research Conferences and a Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinical Research Conference. 

Read the full story, written by Daniel Timmermann, on the UMaine Research News website.