FOXG1 Foundation

Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee Named FOXG1 Research Foundation Chief Scientific Officer

The FOXG1 Research Foundation (FRF), announced today the appointment of Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee as the new Chief Scientific Officer of the FOXG1 Research Foundation. Dr. Lee is an Empire Innovation Professor and Om P. Bahl Endowed Professor at University at Buffalo Department of Biological Sciences. Since joining the FRF in 2017, Dr. Lee has elevated the FOXG1 research center at the University at Buffalo to a global leader in the field. Her exceptional work has garnered around $3M annually from federal agencies, FRF, UB, and the Simon Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), notably receiving SFARI's 2022 Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies award.

Dr. Lee’s dedication to curing FOXG1 syndrome is deeply personal as a mother to Yuna, diagnosed with FOXG1 syndrome in 2009. Her passion and commitment have inspired everyone fortunate enough to work with her. It's a rare and special circumstance to have FOXG1 parents leading the scientific journey towards effective therapeutics for all FOXG1 children globally.

The Rare Disease Crusaders

The Rare Disease Crusaders

I joined Ciitizen and initiated our entry into neurological diseases because I am both passionate and desperate to find an answer for my daughter. At Ciitizen, we’re creating a platform where medical records are collected on behalf of each patient, then automatically digitized into the computational data we need. From there, sophisticated machine learning technology is used to extract clinical data in order to create regulatory-grade Natural History Studies that do not require exorbitant amounts of time, energy, or money. Patient reported outcomes can then be added by us parents.

More importantly, this database of computational data we’re creating will be accessible and open to all patients, parents, caregivers, clinicians, academics, and biopharma researchers. Our goal is to eliminate the slow, manual, and expensive processes that we currently use to collect information and use the best technologies to be quick, cost-effective and more accurate when it comes to developing research.