Fernando Scaglia, MD, is a professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine; co-director of the Pediatric Mitochondrial Medicine Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital; and director of the BCM-CUHK Center of Medical Genetics at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong. His research focuses on the natural history of mitochondrial disorders, supported by the North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC). Here, he shares his start in rare disease research, exciting discoveries, and future goals.
The North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC) was established to create a network of clinicians and clinical investigators in North America who follow sizeable numbers of patients with mitochondrial diseases and are involved or interested in mitochondrial research. Here, Principal Investigator (PI) Michio Hirano, MD, shares the history of the consortium, current research, and future plans.
Art Estopinan is a government consultant and political advisor who has spent his life advocating for different causes. When his son Arturo, now 11, was diagnosed with TK2-related mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDS), the Estopinan family became his biggest advocates. Here, Art shares their journey from facing a difficult prognosis to finding a therapy that saved his son’s life.
Zarazuela Zolkipli-Cunningham, MBChB, MRCP, is an attending physician in the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program (MMFP) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a member of the North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC). Her research focuses on conducting natural history studies with an emphasis on longitudinal objective measures for mitochondrial disease. Here, she shares her start in rare disease research, exciting discoveries, and future goals.
