MadelineSantanaPhoto
Graduate Student
Email: santan6@g.clemson.edu
Biosketch
Madeline Santana is a Fulbright Grantee from the Dominican Republic, currently coursing a Masters in Genetics. She is a Pediatrician in her home country. Since the beginning of her medical career, she had a particular interest in Genetics, but this training is not available in her home country.
Research
During med school, she got involved with two groups of researchers: a cardiology group and a neurology group. The neurology group studied a genetic neurodegeneration with a high incidence in a secluded city in the Dominican Republic. The disease is called Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN); this pathology causes abnormal movements in the first decade of life.
Given that the latter combined the fields of genetics, pediatrics, and neuroscience, she has collaborated with the group for over ten years.
Madeline aims to start a Genetic Program in the Dominican Republic, combining genetic counseling and providing quality of life to those affected by these disorders.