Josie Silvaroli receives CDKL5 Forum 2023 research fellowship

Josie Silvaroli, a PhD student and research assistant in Dr. Navjot Pabla’s lab in The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy Division of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, received the CDKL5 Forum 2023 Junior Fellowship award from the Loulou Foundation, a non-profit group in the United Kingdom dedicated to advancing research on the development of therapeutics for CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD). 

CDD is a rare neurodevelopmental condition characterized by epilepsy, low muscle tone and developmental delays. The condition is largely associated with brain function, thus studies surrounding the disorder often focus specifically on the brain.  

Dr. Pabla’s lab focuses on identifying targets for kidney diseases and therapeutics for acute kidney injury (AKI). The lab carried out a screen for drug targets for AKI, which found that the most abundant gene in the screen was CDKL5. As a research assistant, Silvaroli is now responsible for continuing to research the presence of the gene and figuring out its pathways and function in the kidney.  

Because of the emphasis on the brain in most CDD research, Silvaroli’s discovery offers to fill some gaps, and she intends to utilize this award's funding to better understand the functions of the family of CDKL kinases. 

Silvaroli was formally recognized at the forum’s annual Awards Ceremony at the Euston Square Conference Center in London on November 6. The fellowship award includes an amount of $10,000 to be dedicated towards her further research on CDD.