Team:New York City/Integrated Practices

Integrated Practices

Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare and deadly inherited disease, so our team was motivated to develop a cure that would attack the root of the problem instead of solely relieving the symptoms. The severity of the symptoms, along with the late onset of the disease, affects victims both mentally and physically. Thus, we wanted to spread awareness of HD and our research to both the public and scientific community. We held information sessions within our respective high schools to educate students on HD as well as our ongoing research. We also visited organizations like the HDSA (Huntington's Disease Society of America) to present our project and discuss other ongoing research on HD such as Zinc Fingers. Most importantly, we had a rare opportunity to attend an Education Day event at HDSA Center of Excellence at Columbia University Medical Center and NYS Psychiatric Institute where we met Huntington's disease patients, their caregivers and advocates. Through direct outreach to institutions and educational communities such as our schools, the colleges/universities in our city, and affiliated organizations, we hoped to inspire further experimentation and interest in HD.