Virginia Tech scientist awarded grant to study a debilitating neurological disorder
Neuroscientist Meike van der Heijden, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been awarded a grant to explore the brain mechanisms behind dystonia, a debilitating but understudied neurological disorder.
Van der Heijden received the two-year, $190,000 award from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.
“It’s a troubling condition that interferes with daily life, but we have hope that we can help those patients,” said Van der Heijden, who is also assistant professor in Virginia Tech’s School of Neuroscience in the College of Science. “On top of that, if we understand better how dystonia works, we will understand better how the brain works and contribute to knowledge of related movement disorders.”