SPiN-LAB member awarded Summer studentship sponsored by the Neurofibromitosis Therapeutic Acceleration Programme (NTAP) at Johns Hopkins University

Paola wins Summer studentship award sponsored by the Neurofibromitosis Therapeutic Acceleration Programme (NTAP) at Johns Hopkins University.

We are delighted to announce that Paola G. Piza, one of the newest members of our lab, has been successfully accepted into the 2024 Summer Student Research Award for the Francis S. Collins Scholars (FCS) Program in Neurofibromatosis Clinical and Translational Research. As part of this Award, Paola G. Piza will be working alongside PhD student Sadali Wanniarachchi and will investigate whether heart rate (HR) data can serve as an early biomarker for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children with NF1. The project, proposed by Sadali Wanniarachchi, aims to determine whether variations in autonomic system (AS) functioning between typically developing children and children with NF1 appear during early development, and whether these differences can predict distinct behavioural phenotypes of ADHD and ASD at later life stages. Given antecedent markers for these conditions are rare, patients often miss the opportunity for early intervention strategies that could significantly improve their prognostic outcomes. This project hopes to expand our knowledge regarding the physiological profile of ADHD and ASD, hoping its results can be used in conjunction with other measures so that clinicians and researchers can direct patients towards support services at earlier life stages.