Graduate student Emma Casey of the Jin lab has been appointed to the Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB) T32 Training Grant, a competitive program funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The training grant, led by principal investigator Heather True, PhD, supports promising early-career scientists as they develop innovative approaches to address fundamental questions in biology and disease.
Casey’s research focuses on uncovering how mitochondrial DNA variation may contribute to the etiology of idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, a debilitating condition that affects nerve function and often lacks a clear underlying cause. Using a multi-omics framework, she is working to identify patterns of genetic variation that could shed light on the mechanisms driving this disorder. In the next phase of her work, Casey will conduct functional experiments to investigate how these mitochondrial DNA variants influence disease pathways, providing critical insights into neuropathy biology.