Yin Chun Cheng, Vincent Awarded Fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation

Yin Chun Cheng, Vincent Awarded Fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation

We are thrilled to announce that Yin Chun Cheng, Vincent, a member of Esther Becker's lab, has been awarded a Research Fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation. This fellowship, valued at $25,000, comes at a time when competition for such grants has been the most intense, according to the National Ataxia Foundation's website.

Vincent's research project, titled "Elucidating developmental gene expression changes in Spinocerebellar Ataxia 44", seeks to shed light on the mechanisms underlying abnormal development of nerve cells in the cerebellum, contributing to the progression of Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA). SCA is a group of genetic disorders that affect the cerebellum, leading to a progressive decline in motor functions.

Traditionally, SCA has been understood as a result of cerebellar degeneration over time. However, recent research suggests that disrupted cerebellar development early in life may also play a crucial role. Vincent's project aims to explore this hypothesis, with the hope of identifying new therapeutic strategies for SCA patients.

Commenting on Vincent's achievement, his supervisor Esther Becker stated, "I am absolutely delighted for Vincent having been awarded this very competitive fellowship from the National Ataxia Foundation. The award will allow Vincent to address the intriguing hypothesis that abnormal development contributes to neurodegeneration in cerebellar ataxia and makes a key contribution to his budding career in neuroscience."

We congratulate Vincent on this remarkable achievement and look forward to the valuable contributions his research will make to the field of neuroscience and the lives of those affected by Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

Since April 2021, Oxford University's KAVLI Institute for Nanoscience Discovery is proudly serving as a hub for research groups from seven different departments spanning both the medical and physical sciences, including the Becker Lab from the NDCN.