Join us for FARA Flash Talks!
Research Webinar Series
In honor of FA Awareness Month this May, we proudly present the fourth annual FARA Flash Talks series featuring young investigators from FARA-funded laboratories worldwide. This four-part series will cover critical aspects of FARA-funded FA research, from gene silencing and disease mechanisms to therapeutic approaches and clinical insights.
Each session will consist of four Flash Talks from postdocs and graduate students, moderated by FA community members. The talks will be limited to five minutes and a single PowerPoint slide, making them suitable for a lay audience. A brief Q&A will follow each talk.
To register for any of the four sessions, please click on the corresponding button below. Please note that each session requires a separate registration.
Session 1
May 4, 2023 - 12 pm ET
Moderated by: Tricia Maul and Mike Andresen
Does the GAA repeat expansion produce proteins that can damage cells?
Lisa Romano, University of Florida

The role of sphingolipids in FA: Can we target a special type of fat to treat FA?
Zenouska Ramchunder, Brunel University London

Hey brain, is your zipper down? Investigating how leaky the blood-brain barrier is in FA
Frances Smith, SUNY Buffalo

A new mouse model to study heart failure in FA
Tyler Perfitt, Pfizer, Inc.
Session 2
May 11, 2023 - 7 pm ET
Moderated by: Bridget Downing and Christina Cordaro
Studying the brain immune system in FA with stem cells
Priyanka Mishra, University of California, San Diego

A broccoli compound and its potential use for FA
Wenyao Yang, Swinburne University of Technology

Studying the brain of an FA mouse model
Elizabeth Mercado Ayon, University of Pennsylvania 

How is diabetes in children with FA different from adults?
Camilla Whitesel, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Session 3
May 18, 2023 - 12 pm ET
Moderated by: Brian Haffey and Kailey Newcity
Investigating the therapeutic effects of different antioxidants in FA
Fred Edzeamey, Brunel University London

Searching for frataxin-replacing molecules through virtual screening
Kristian Want, CNRS France

Is GAA instability a therapeutic target for FA?
Maheswaran Kesavan, Massachusetts General Hospital

What's wrong with the gut bacteria in FA?
Francesca Sciarretta, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Session 4
May 25, 2023 - 12 pm ET
Moderated by: Gabrielle Angiolelli and Mary Caruso
Blood-based inflammation as a biomarker for FA clinical trials
Shweta Sahni, AIIMS, New Delhi and CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi

Say cheese! Analyzing images of your brain
Diogo Shiraishi, UNICAMP (Brazil)

Developing two questionnaires (the FA-HI and FACR-HI) to measure outcomes in clinical trials
Charlotte Engebrecht, University of Rochester

A stem cell approach to treat FA
Anusha Sivakumar, University of California, San Diego