We’re excited to share that Dr. Mukesh Kumar (Research Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Ryan in Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics) from Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) has been selected as a Collaborative Research Network (CRN) Discovery Fellow by Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP).
ASAP, in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, created the CRN Discovery Fellowship to help establish a strong, diverse, and global pipeline of the next generation of Parkinson’s disease researchers. Each project will leverage inter-team collaborations and promote training and mentorship opportunities for trainees within the Network to facilitate a path to independent research careers.
We look forward to supporting Dr. Kumar as he embarks on this work and to collaborating with ASAP to execute a bold and creative project focused on understanding organellar interactions in maintaining synaptic health and their contributions to neurodegenerative diseases.
"The CRN ASAP Discovery Fellowship will provide me critical support to investigate how pathogenic α-synuclein impairs functional contacts between lipid droplets and mitochondria in Parkinson's disease. This award marks an important milestone in my transition towards independence, giving me confidence, visibility, and momentum to build a unique program at the interface of lipid biology, synaptic metabolism, and neurodegeneration,” said Dr. Kumar.
Dr. Mukesh Kumar received his PhD in cell biology and biophysics from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai, India) before joining WCM as a postdoctoral associate. He is a recipient of the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation Award and the TNQ Inspiring Science Award and is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Learn more about the Fellowship: https://parkinsonsroadmap.org/newsroom/discovery-fellows-inaugural-cohort/