2021 Pilot Grant Awardee, Johns Hopkins
Dr. Mugnier is studying a devastating illness called African sleeping sickness, caused by the bite of the Tse-tse fly infected with the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.
Awarded: $50,000
Why study this condition?
African sleeping sickness has a profound economic and social impact in sub-Saharan African countries. Due to lack of access to adequate health care, the consequences of the illness can last a lifetime, even when the parasite infestation has been cured. The cycle of illness has profound economic effects: infection strikes cattle as well as humans, killing 3 million livestock a year. Human deaths and disability, avoidance of regions with dense tsetse fly concentrations, and the scarcity of oxen to till the land have reduced food supplies to critical levels. Ethiopia alone reports a loss of $200 million annually as a consequence of the disease.
What did the doctor find?
Dr. Mugnier produced a population of male and female mice in which the infection produced the same heart abnormalities as are seen in humans with the disease. She is studying the hearts to better understand the defects that compromise their function so that novel treatments for the disease, including genetic manipulation or specific targets in the systems that produce and perpetuate immune disorders, can be developed.
How did the Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine’s grant specifically help their research?
The grant supports Dr. Mugnier’s research into the development of a mouse model that mirrors the cardiac manifestations of African sleeping sickness in humans, facilitating the study of sex-specific prevention and treatment strategies.
Current Status:
Dr. Mugnier’s work aims to develop more focused sex-specific prevention and treatment strategies for both humans and infected animals, considering the known differences in the immune response of males and females.