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Ataxia research news, directly from researchers to the Ataxia community.

Recent Articles

Snapshot: What is intelligibility?

Speech intelligibility refers to how many words can be correctly understood by a listener. For example, if someone says the phrase, “My name is John,” and a listener hears, “My Read More…

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About SCAsource

SCAsource began as a website where research on SCAs and related Ataxias is written in plain language by SCA scientists. Their goal was to make research more readily accessible and understandable to Ataxia patients and families. The idea for SCAsource came from discussion at the 2018 Ataxia Investigators Meeting run by NAF. The original website, scasource.net, was officially launched on September 27, 2018. It was run entirely by volunteers, primarily graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in laboratories which study Spinocerebellar Ataxias. In 2022, NAF partnered with SCAsource and its writers to host their content and publish their articles. 

SCAsource Founders and Project Coordinators

Dr. Celeste Suart

Patient Engagement Manager
National Ataxia Foundation

Bio: Celeste Suart obtained her PhD from McMaster University in Canada. She worked in Dr. Ray Truant’s laboratory studying the response of ataxin-1 (the protein affected in SCA1) to DNA damage and reactive oxygen species stress. She earned obtained her Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization from the University of Guelph. Currently, Celeste is the Patient Engagement Manager for the National Ataxia Foundation, where she works to make ataxia research information more accessible for patients and family members.

Dr. Hayley McLoughlin

Assistant Professor
University of Michigan

Bio: Dr. Hayley McLoughlin is an Assistant Professor in the University of Michigan Neurology Department, with a joint appointment in the Department of Human Genetics. She earned her Neuroscience doctoral degree in 2013 from the University of Iowa in Dr. Beverly Davidson’s laboratory and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship under the guidance of Dr. Henry (Hank) Paulson at the University of Michigan. Her lab currently focuses on establishing pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic interventions for neurodegenerative diseases with particular emphasis toward the polyglutamine disease, SCA3.

Are you an Ataxia researcher that would like to write for SCAsource? Complete the Volunteer Application Form.

Articles by Type

Article Summary

SCAsource Snapshot

Snapshot: What is intelligibility?

Speech intelligibility refers to how many words can be correctly understood by a listener. For example, if someone says the phrase, “My name is John,” and a listener hears, “My Read More…

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SCAsource Spotlight

Snapshot: What is Chorea?

Chorea is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary, unusual, and abrupt movements of the body that appear to be out of control and without purpose. The word “chorea” is originated Read More…

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Spotlight: The Lim Laboratory

Picture of the Lim lab taken in May 2022. Left to right: Chris Lee, Benjamin Sanders, Kimberly Luttik, Dr. Janghoo Lim, Dr. Neha Gogia, Luhan Ni, Ashley Owens, Victor Olmos Read More…

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Spotlight: The Cvetanovic Lab

Principal Investigator: Dr. Marija Cvetanovic Location: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA Year Founded:  2012 What disease areas do you research? SCA1 What models and techniques do you use? Mouse models Human stem Read More…

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Special Series: The Discovery

SCAsource Project Update

Contact SCAsource

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