LeDoux Receives NIH Exploratory/Developmental Award

To study movement disorder

Mark LeDoux, M.D., Ph.D., FANA, research professor in the Department of Psychology, was recently awarded an exploratory/developmental R21 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

LeDoux’s award for $394,625 over two years, entitled “Pathobiology of GNAL-Associated Dystonia,” will increase our understanding of dystonia, a movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions causing repetitive movements, abnormal postures, or both. His work will examine the contributions of DNA damage and epigenetic changes to the pathogenesis of dystonia and other age-related movement disorders. The proposed experiments will support development of new targeted surgical and therapeutic methods to treat dystonia. To achieve their aims, LeDoux and his team will use genetically engineered model systems to investigate the effects of G Protein Subunit Alpha L (GNAL) protein deficiency with cell-type specificity in the central nervous system. Mutations in GNAL may be the most prevalent known genetic cause of adult-onset dystonia. LeDoux’s research will focus on the effects of GNAL haploinsufficiency in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and Purkinje cells as part of a larger effort to explicate the neural circuitry that drives dystonia.

About the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s and the Exploratory/Developmental Projects in Translational Research (R21) Program

NINDS’ mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease for all people. NINDS supports research that advances the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of neurological disorders, that is, diseases of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and neuromuscular system. Basic research to understand the nervous system in health and disease, which provides the foundation for public and private sector progress, is at the core of this mission. The NINDS R21 program will facilitate therapy-directed projects to accelerate the translation of basic research discoveries into therapeutic candidates for clinical testing. Translational R21 projects should include a strong biological rationale for the intended approach, supporting data from rigorously designed experiments, and proposed studies that exhibit methodological rigor. In order to assess the predictive value of preclinical research, sufficient information should be available about study design, execution, analysis, and interpretation.

For more information on the R21 funding through NIH’s Institutes, please contact Research Development at researchdev@memphis.edu.