Using Rare Disease Research to Unlock Common Diseases - Matt Wilsey, CEO of Grace Science

Grace Wilsey was born with a deadly genetic mutation so rare that at the time of her birth, it had never been identified in another person. The disorder, NGLY1 deficiency, causes a wide range of physical and cognitive problems such as muscle weakness, speech deficiencies and seizures. “The NGLY1 gene is in every cell in the body. It's almost like a firefighter that's on call, ready to go when there's a problem. Without it, the cell just kind of overwhelms itself with stress and starts to die,” explains Matt Wilsey, Grace’s father, who joins us on this episode of Raise the Line to talk about the daunting journey he and his family have been on since Grace was born in 2009. That journey involves starting a foundation and biotech company that’s fueling research on NGLY1 deficiency which could have an impact on more common diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's. The researchers the Grace Science Foundation supports include several Nobel laureates whose work is providing reason for optimism. In fact, Matt says they hope to start a clinical trial in early 2023 to study a gene therapy that has shown promise in animal testing.  Listen to this fascinating conversation with host Shiv Gaglani to learn about the race with time to unlock the secrets to a gene that is fundamental to human life. 

Mentioned in this episode: https://gracescience.org/

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