FOXG1 Research Foundation 2024 Q2 Research & Development Update
The FOXG1 Research Foundation is happy to share our 2024 Q2 update on FOXG1 Research and Development from our Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee and our Chief Drug Development Officer, Dr. Gai Ayalon.
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.
Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee, FOXG1 Research Foundation Scientist, Earns Grant from Simon Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) for Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies
Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee, FOXG1 Research Foundation Chief Scientific Officer, named awardee of Simon Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) grant for Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies
The most personalized medicine: Studying your own child’s rare condition
Article from Spectrum News, the leading site for autism research news. Excerpt:Attracting parents who are also scientists to the cause only turbocharges those efforts. Nasha Fitter, a cofounder of the FOXG1 Research Foundation, a parent-led foundation for research on an autism-linked condition called FOXG1syndrome, could hardly believe it when she stumbled on a 2017 Facebook post by FOXG1 parent Soo-Kyung Lee about a grant she and her husband, Jae Lee, both respected neuroscientists, had secured. “Hold up, you guys are parents and you’re scientists?” she remembers thinking, even before she knew of their expertise and reputation for rigor. The Lees now lead the FOXG1 Center of Excellence at the University at Buffalo in New York State and receive considerable funding from the foundation. FOXG1 families are unfortunate in many ways, Fitter says, “but we’re very fortunate with Soo and Jae.”
A Daughter's Rare Disease Brings Mother-Father Researchers to Buffalo for Answers
Soo-Kyung Lee, Empire Innovation Professor of Biology at the University at Buffalo, has been driven to focus greater attention on FOXG1 syndrome since her daughter, Yuna, was diagnosed with the neurological condition almost nine years ago.
Douglas Levere/University at Buffalo
For Yuna: OHSU Scientist Unveils Origins Of Daughter’s Rare Condition: Study Findings Could Lead To New Treatment Options For FOXG1 Syndrome
For more than 20 years, Soo and Jae W. Lee have studied the specialized functions of transcription factors including FOX proteins, a family of 40-plus genes integral to the lifetime development and function of such organs as the brain and heart.
New York Times: Infinitesimal Odds: A Scientist Finds Her Child’s Rare Illness Stems from the Gene She Studies
New York Times feature titled: the infinitesimal odds -tells the story of a scientist discovering that her daughter’s rare disease, FOXG1 syndrome, is caused by the same gene she has been studying for years. Since this article that was written in 2018, Dr. Soo-Kyung Lee has developed a gene replacement therapy for FOXG1 syndrome that is beginning first in-human clinical trials in 2026.