After an extensive national search with many highly qualified candidates, we are excited to announce NAF’s very first Chief Scientific Officer! We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Lauren Moore, PhD. She stood out for her outstanding scientific knowledge, passion for serving the Ataxia community, and commitment to NAF’s mission.
Lauren came to NAF from Exicure, Inc. where she worked on drug development programs for rare genetic diseases, including Ataxias. She also spent many years working on Ataxia research in Dr. Henry Paulson’s lab at University of Michigan. Some of you may even recognize Lauren from her presentation, “Hope and Promise for the Future of Ataxia,” at our 2019 Annual Ataxia Conference or more recently from her appointment to NAF’s Board of Directors.
Bringing an experienced scientific voice to the NAF staff is an important step toward our mission to accelerate the development of treatments and a cure while working to improve the lives of those living with Ataxia. She will join the organization on January 3rd, 2022.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead NAF’s scientific and research programs at such a pivotal time for the Ataxia community. I was driven to pursue a career in Ataxia research following a positive genetic diagnosis in my own family, and know first-hand the impact these diseases have on individuals and their loved ones. Having witnessed the immense progress made over the last decade working in Ataxia research and drug development, I am very hopeful for the future of Ataxia and am honored to support further advancement of life-changing treatments as the first CSO of NAF."
We look forward to having Lauren’s expertise and guidance in shaping NAF’s research funding strategy and deepening our rapidly expanding partnerships in the pharmaceutical space. The Ataxia community is at a pivotal moment in our search for effective treatments. We believe Lauren will help accelerate NAF’s ability to work with our membership and grow participation in research studies and clinical trials going forward.
About Lauren
Lauren Moore, PhD has built a reputation as a collaborative and trusted colleague throughout the Ataxia research community. She was previously Senior Scientist at Exicure, a clinical stage biotech company where she acted as lead scientist over multiple therapeutic programs aimed at developing oligonucleotide-based therapies for rare neurological diseases such as Ataxia. She worked as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr. Henry Paulson. Dr. Moore received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Michigan, where her thesis was titled “Towards understanding and developing antisense oligonucleotide-based therapies for spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.” She holds a B.S. in Biomedical Physics from Northeastern University.
