Valeria Cavalli, PhD, the Robert E. and Louise F. Dunn Professor of Biomedical Research in the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University, has received a grant of more than $400,000 to understand the origins of hypersensitivity in Fragile X syndrome (FXS). This genetic disorder, which accounts for the most cases of autism by a known genetic variant, leads to both somatosensory deficits and hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli. With this new award, the Cavalli Lab, in collaboration with the lab of Vitaly Klyachko, PhD, a Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at WashU, will investigate dysfunction of sensory neurons and surrounding cells called satellite glial cells in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome.
