Applicants for ASF’s inaugural Jacob Pritzker Fellowship sought
Up to $100K a year will be awarded to Angelman researcher or clinical program
The Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) is seeking applicants for its first Jacob Pritzker Fellowship, a program established to address the growing need for physicians with knowledge about Angelman syndrome, a complex neurological genetic disorder.
The program will award at least one fellowship of up to $100,000 annually to a junior investigator or clinical training program for an early-career physician interested in specializing in Angelman care or research. Non-physician junior investigator applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants must hold a health profession doctoral degree or a degree in nursing research or practice that permits clinical practice. Junior investigators who have a PhD may also be eligible.
Each fellowship will have a mentor and fellows are expected to engage full time in Angelman-related activities throughout the year. Fellows must present a proposal to the foundation’s advisory board that describes the details and scope of their project, which may be clinic- or research-oriented. Each proposal must include measurable and specific outcomes.
Six months after the fellowship starts, fellows are expected to update the foundation’s medical board of its activities. At the end, fellows must submit a report that details its outcomes and necessary next steps. Within a year of its completion, recipients must present their work at the ASF Research Symposium.
Proposals should address an unmet care need or scientific knowledge gap in Angelman, which is thought to affect about 500,000 people around the world. The foundation welcomes proposals that seek to create new multidisciplinary clinics or Angelman syndrome Centers of Excellence.
The work of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation
The foundation currently partners with leading research medical centers to establish designated Angelman Syndrome Clinics, all of which have clinicians who are educated about Angelman and are apprised of treatments and advances, the aim being to ensure that everybody with the condition receives top-shelf comprehensive care.
ASF Clinics are part of the LADDER Learning Network, which lets providers share information about challenging cases and links patients to clinical trials. During the fellowship year, the applicant is expected to be involved in network activities, including leading one or two provider education series.
“The LADDER Learning Network (LLN) is a strategic collaboration between the Angelman Syndrome Foundation and Dup15q Alliance, which aims to provide the best possible care for those with Angelman syndrome and Dup15q syndrome,” said Katie Garbarini, LLN director. “The vision of the LADDER Learning Network is to create a community of clinics and providers focused on shared knowledge, advocacy for innovations in research, and commitment to developing therapeutics. We are so excited to continue to grow this community through the Jacob Pritzker Fellowship!”
The fellowship was named in honor of the organization’s former board president, Fred Pritzker, and his son, Jacob, an Angelman patient. Fred Pritzker, an attorney who founded the Minnesota law firm Pritzker Hageman, died in 2022.
“Fred played such a pivotal role in the Angelman syndrome community in establishing clinical care for those living with Angelman syndrome,” Amanda Moore, ASF CEO, said in a press release. “His dedication, not only to his son, Jacob but so many like him, has been truly inspiring and transformational. We are humbled to honor his memory by ensuring that this work continues way into the future.”
More information about the fellowship program is available by emailing Katie Garbarini at [email protected].
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