The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine is proud to present the ACMG Foundation/David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award to Christiana Wang, BS for her featured platform presentation at the 2024 ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, “Antisense oligonucleotide targeting a linked-SNP provides allele-specific and effective knockdown to a dominant negative SPTAN1 pathogenic variant.”
Christiana Wang, BS, is a second-year PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science with honors in Biology and a minor in Data Science from Case Western Reserve University in 2021. She was awarded the Francis Hobart Herrick Prize for outstanding biological research and academic excellence in biology. She studied the molecular genetics of meiosis under the mentorship of Dr. K. Nicole Crown since January 2019. After graduating, she joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study immunogenetic mechanisms for establishing the maternal-fetal barrier in early pregnancy under the guidance of Dr. Eric O. Long. She joined Dr. Pengfei Liu’s laboratory in 2023 and spearheaded efforts to study disease mechanisms and develop translatable treatments for individuals with genetic disorders. The overarching goal of this research is to set forward a streamlined pipeline for n-of-1 therapy development and preclinical validation, helping families affected by rare genetic disorders.
“We are pleased to award Christiana Wang the Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award. Her work to create a platform to develop treatments for individuals with rare diseases exemplifies the intent of this award and Dr. Rimoin's legacy,” said Nancy Mendelsohn, MD, FACMG, president of the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine.
The David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award was created in memory of the late Dr. David L. Rimoin, one of the founders of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) who died in 2012. Dr. Rimoin touched the lives of generations of patients as well as trainees and colleagues. The award is a cash award given to a selected student, trainee or junior faculty ACMG member whose abstract submission was chosen for a platform presentation to be given at the ACMG Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting.
“I am thrilled and honored to receive the David L. Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award. I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Pengfei Liu, our wonderful collaborators, and the participating family for their support in my research. I hope our work on n-of-1 therapy will set forward a path for collaborative efforts between clinicians, scientists and families to study and develop individualized therapy for treating rare diseases,” Ms. Wang said.
“Ms. Christiana Wang, the winner of this year’s Rimoin Inspiring Excellence Award has earned this honor based on her exceptional research demonstrating the degradation of the monoallelic mutation responsible for DEE5 using an antisense oligonucleotide. Our family is proud to award her with this distinction and wish her continued success in clinical genetics and therapeutics,” said Dr. Ann Garber-Rimoin, Dr. Rimoin’s widow.
About the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine
The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is a community of supporters and contributors who understand the importance of medical genetics and genomics in healthcare. Established in 1992, the ACMG Foundation supports the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) mission to “translate genes into health.” Through its work, the ACMG Foundation fosters charitable giving, promotes training opportunities to attract future medical geneticists and genetic counselors to the field, shares information about medical genetics and genomics, and sponsors important research. To learn more and support the ACMG Foundation mission to create “Better Health through Genetics” visit acmgfoundation.org.
Note to editors: To arrange interviews with experts in medical genetics, contact ACMG Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations Kathy Moran, MBA at kmoran@acmg.net.