PAF sponsors research on propionic acidemia by minority students – Summer 2017

Last summer, Acidemia Fondazione propionico (PAF) established a collaboration with Dr. Patricia Schneider from the department of Biology at Queensborough Community College (QCC, Queens, New York) to sponsor a project on the impact of propionic acid in the incidence of autism in Propionic Acidemia (PA) affected individuals. The project was part of the research initiative “Bridges to the Baccaularate”, a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded project that provides resources for a summer research project for minority students. Designed and mentored by Dr. Marisa Cotrina, herself the mother of a PA child, this work investigated the incidence of autism in the propionic acidemia population and the validity of mouse models of autism to study the impact of propionic acid in brain. A unique asset of the project was the utilization of the data collected by the PAF PA International Patient Registry. The authors of the study are currently preparing a manuscript for publication of the results found.

At the end of the project, our student, Sindy Ferreiras, had the opportunity to present her research in the area of Neuroscience at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for minority students (ABRCAMS) that took place in Phoenix, Arizona last November. Well done, Sindy!