Sarah Tabrizi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sarah Joanna Tabrizi FMedSci FRS
Sarah Tabrizi in July 2024
Born	London, UK
Alma mater	Heriot-Watt University University of Edinburgh University College London
Known for	Research into neurodegeneration, particularly Huntington's disease
Spouse(s)	Michael Nath
Awards	Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences, 2014 MRC Millennium Medal, 2022 Fellowship of the Royal Society, 2024 National Academy of Medicine, 2024
Scientific career
Fields	Neuroscience
Institutions	UCL Institute of Neurology; National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Thesis	Mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration (2000)

Sarah Joanna Tabrizi is a British doctor and scientist. She studies the brain, especially how brain cells can stop working and die. This is called neurodegeneration. She is a leading expert on Huntington's disease, a serious brain condition.

Dr. Tabrizi is a Professor at the UCL Institute of Neurology. She also started and leads the UCL Huntington's Disease Centre. She works as a brain doctor at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. There, she created a special clinic for people with Huntington's disease.

Becoming a Scientist

Her Education Journey

Sarah Tabrizi studied biochemistry at Heriot-Watt University and finished with top honors in 1986. She then went to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. In 1992, she earned her medical degree and won a special award for being the best medical graduate.

Later, she earned her PhD from University College London in 2000. During her training as a brain doctor, she worked with important professors who inspired her.

Early Research Work

From 1996 to 1999, Sarah studied how problems with tiny parts of cells, called mitochondria, can cause brain diseases. She then received a special fellowship in 2002. This allowed her to continue her research at the UCL Institute of Neurology.

She became a senior lecturer and consultant doctor in 2003. By 2009, she was promoted to a full Professor.

Her Amazing Research

Understanding Brain Diseases

Dr. Tabrizi is well-known for her work on how brain cells break down. She focuses on understanding Huntington's disease. Her research looks for new ways to treat it, find early signs, and measure how well treatments work.

She has made many important discoveries. For example, she found out that the body's defense system plays a role in Huntington's disease. She also developed the first test for the faulty protein that causes the disease.

Big Studies: TRACK-HD and Track-On HD

Dr. Tabrizi led two major international studies called TRACK-HD and Track-On HD. These studies helped scientists learn a lot about Huntington's disease before symptoms even appear.

They found signs of brain changes up to 20 years before people showed symptoms. Her work also created ways to measure disease progression. These methods are now used in many studies around the world.

New Ways to Fight Huntington's

In 2017, her team found a new genetic factor that affects how Huntington's disease progresses. This discovery opened up new ideas for treatments. Scientists are now looking at how to fix DNA problems to slow down the disease.

Her main goal is to find ways to stop, slow down, or even reverse Huntington's disease. This involves targeting specific genetic changes.

Gene Silencing and Clinical Trials

Dr. Tabrizi gave a talk at the Google Zeitgeist Minds conference in 2016. She spoke about her research and the exciting idea of "gene silencing" for brain diseases.

She was the main doctor leading the first study of a "gene silencing" drug for Huntington's disease. This drug, called an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), aims to lower the harmful protein. The early results in 2017 were big news around the world. The full results were published in a major medical journal in 2019.

Dr. Tabrizi continues to explore different treatments. She is testing new ASOs and gene therapy methods. These aim to target the faulty gene that causes Huntington's disease.

Studying Young Adults: HD-YAS

In 2020, Dr. Tabrizi published results from the Huntington’s Disease Young Adult Study (HD-YAS). This study looked at young adults who carry the Huntington's gene but don't have symptoms yet.

Even though they seemed fine, the study found early signs of brain cell damage. This suggests that treatments could be started very early. This could help delay or even prevent the disease from starting. This research could also help with other brain diseases.

A New Staging System

In 2022, Dr. Tabrizi helped create a new way to describe the stages of Huntington's disease. It's called the Huntington’s Disease Integrated Staging System (HD-ISS).

This system is like the stages used for cancer. It defines Huntington's disease in four stages, from 0 to 3. It also says that having the faulty gene means you have the disease. This new system will help doctors test treatments much earlier. This could lead to preventing the disease in the future.

Publications and Recognition

Dr. Tabrizi's work has been featured in important medical magazines like The Lancet. As of May 2024, she has written over 380 scientific papers. Her research has been cited by other scientists over 39,000 times.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Tabrizi has received many awards for her important work:

• Elected to US National Academy of Medicine (2024)
• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2024)
• Arvid Carlsson Award from Lund University (2023)
• MRC Millennium Medal (2022)
• Huntington’s Disease Society of America Outstanding Research Award (2022)
• Osler Medal and Lecture from the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (2022)
• Alexander Morison Medal from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (2019)
• Yahr Award from the World Congress of Neurology (2019)
• Cotzias Award from the Spanish Society of Neurology (2018)
• NHS70 Women Leader award (2018)
• Seventh Leslie Gehry Brenner Prize for Innovation in Science awarded by the Hereditary Disease Foundation (2017)
• Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2014)
• Member of the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group on Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (2013-2017)
• Associate editor, Journal of Huntington's Disease
• Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (2007)

Personal Life

Sarah Tabrizi lives in London with her husband, who is an author named Michael Nath.