2023-24 LLL Impact Report - Flipbook - Seite 20
ADVANCING ALS
RESEARCH
2023
CAREER
DEVELOPMENT AWARD
The Live Like Lou Foundation was pleased to announce that Devesh Pant, PhD, from Emory University,
is the recipient of Live Like Lou’s 2023 Career Development Award which funds $200,000 over two
years. This award aims to bolster the careers of emerging scientists, facilitating the advancement of
innovative ideas toward securing substantial funding for the critical study of amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
DR. DEVESH PANT
Dr. Pant’s project,
“Role of altered
sphingolipids in the
pathophysiology of
ALS,” was considered
among a 昀椀eld of
proposals. The project
centers on studying
changes in the SPTLC1 gene linked to Juvenile
ALS (JALS). This gene plays a role in the body’s
lipid production, creating sphingolipids. Mutations
in SPTLC1 result in the abnormal production of
these lipids. Dr. Pant aims to uncover the speci昀椀c
molecular processes driving JALS due to irregular
sphingolipid production, utilizing various model
systems for investigation.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with Dr. Pant’s
selection as our 2023 recipient,” said W.L. Gray,
JOINT
RESEARCH
GRANT
chairman of the Live Like Lou Foundation
board of trustees. “We are always looking for
promising researchers in the early stage of their
careers who may need additional support to help
advance their research ideas. Dr. Pant certainly
meets these criteria and more.”
“Our investment in ALS discovery is unique
and impactful,” said Live Like Lou Executive
Director Wendy Faust. “Our funded scientists
truly are leaving ALS better than they found it.”
Dr. Pant is an instructor at Emory and most
recently served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in
the Jiang Lab at Emory University’s Department
of Cell Biology. He holds a master’s in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Advanced
Research and a PhD in biomedicine from Pompeu
Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain.
d
The Robert Packard Center for ALS Rresearch at
Johns Hopkins and the Live Like Lou Foundation
have announced plans to jointly fund a one-year
research grant to study cellular and animal
models of sptlc1-related juvenile ALS.
This grant is awarded to Payam
Mohassel, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins, to study
cellular and animal models of SPTLC1-related
juvenile ALS.
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