CMND announces recipients of Trainer & Trainee Pilot Awards

The Center for Motor Neuron Disease (CMND) has announced the winners of the CMND Trainer & Trainee Pilot Awards, a new funding opportunity that supports the generation of exploratory data in the field of motor neuron disease. The award will provide $50,000 per year to the Principal Investigator’s (PI) lab, with the option for an additional year of funding based on satisfactory progress. 

In total, six proposals from UChicago labs were selected. These high-reward exploratory projects can be transformative, leading to federal funding and breakthroughs in the field of motor neuron disease and neurodegeneration.

Pilot grants such as the CMND Trainer & Trainee are highly beneficial, especially for new laboratories. Cassandra Hayne, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and one of the recipients, mentions that it provides them with the opportunity to research something that they wouldn't have the funding to explore.

“Now we can really focus and push forward a high-risk, high-impact project that was not otherwise funded, to get us to the point where we can maybe get more funding to study it in the future.”

Cassandra Hayne, PhD

The Award also represents a chance for partnerships between various labs, PIs, and trainees. “I've talked to Raymond Ross and Paschalis Kratsios about potential collaborations, and this is the perfect opportunity. We actually have a project to collaborate and work on. And that is the best way to make things happen,” says Xiaoxi Zhuang, Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology.

For the trainees, receiving a pilot grant means an opportunity for learning, growth, and development of their careers.

“I'm deeply honored to receive this award. It will allow me to broaden the scope of my doctoral research focusing on m6A mRNA methylation, and to gain a better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.”

Zhuoyue Shi, PhD - Postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Zhuang's lab

See the list of proposals, trainers, and trainees below:

“Structural characterization of a Motor-Neuron Disease related protein complex”
Cassandra Hayne, PhD (Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Gabriel Carmona-Rosas, PhD (Postdoctoral Scholar).

“Age-seq: antibody-guided RNA editing and sequencing to identify RNA-binding protein targets”
Xiaoxhang Zhang, PhD (Assistant Professor of Human Genetics)
Xiangbin Ruan, PhD (Postdoctoral Scholar).

“Investigating the potential roles of RNA granules in ALS/FTD pathogenesis with GGGGCC repeat expansion of C9ORF72”
Heng-Chi Lee, PhD (Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology)
Jerry Lee (Graduate Student Research Assistant)

“Computational discovery of risk variants and genes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis”
Xin He, PhD (Associate Professor of Human Genetics)
Zicheng Wang (Graduate Student)

“Imaging synaptosome organelles and proteins to assay neurodegeneration at synapses”
William Green, PhD (Professor of Neurobiology)
Theron Russell, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow)

“Does M6A MRNA methylation protect against or contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?”
Xiaoxi Zhuang, PhD (Professor of Neurobiology and Neurology)
Zhuoyue Shi, PhD (Postdoctoral Scholar)