From The Lilei Zhang Lab at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Andrea Wilderman is Presented with a $20,000 Research Grant from Uplifting Athletes & the TANGO2 Research Foundation
Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the rare disease community, has announced that Dr. Wilderman from the Lilei Zhang Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, will receive a $20,000 research grant as a member of Uplifting Athletes’ 2024 Young Investigator Draft Class. Andrea Wilderman is among a group of 10 researchers who will each receive an unrestricted grant for medical research at Uplifting Athletes’ seventh annual Young Investigator Draft presented by CSL Behring on February 3, 2024 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Every researcher is nominated by a patient advocacy organization (PAO) recognized by Uplifting Athletes as a priority partner, with grants equally co-funded by Uplifting Athletes and the nominating PAO. The PAO that nominated Dr. Wilderman is the TANGO2 Research Foundation.
Dr. Wilderman completed her PhD in biomedical sciences at the University of Connecticut, Health Sciences (UConn Health). Following her PhD, she recently joined the lab of Dr. Lilei Zhang, at Baylor College of Medicine to apply experimental and computational methods for the detection of genetic variants and epigenetic modifications related to congenital heart disease (CHD) and the use of adult stem cell models to identify effects on cellular function related to these genetic and epigenetic differences. Through this work, Dr. Wilderman aims to study genetic variation in regulatory elements associated with genes linked to CHD and novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of rare diseases like TANGO2 Deficiency Disorder (TDD)
Uplifting Athletes is a nonprofit organization that connects student-athletes across the country as well as professional athlete ambassadors with their local rare disease community to raise awareness and funds, and bring inspiration and hope to those impacted by rare diseases, which is approximately one in 10 Americans. The annual event, inspired by the NFL draft, invests in research which could lead to potential rare disease treatments and cures. Just as the NFL Draft rallies around the hope and possibilities that the next generation of game-changing talent will bring a franchise, the Young Investigator Draft celebrates the early-career research investigators who are working toward a brighter future for those affected by rare diseases. Click here to learn more.
Young Investigator Draft: The 7th annual Young Investigator Draft will take place February 3rd at Lincoln Financial Field. There is a virtual option, and we would love for anyone in your community to watch virtually if they cannot join in person! You can register for a FREE virtual ticket using clicking this link. Click “buy ticket” and select the virtual option. The virtual show will begin at approximately 7:00 pm.
