Madison Sexton photo
Graduate Student
Email: mmsexto@g.clemson.edu
Biosketch
Madison graduated from Clemson University with a B.S. in Genetics in 2023. Madison is now a Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, advised by Dr. Annie Peng. Madison has been a TA for Tissue Engineering for 3 years and is also a part of the 2026/2027 Accelerate to Industry cohort. Madison has mentored over 15 undergraduate research students, helping them prepare for careers in industry and medicine.
Research
Madison helps to advance the field of neurodegenerative disease research by specializing in preclinical therapeutic development using advanced molecular techniques and animal models. Specifically, she works on an inherited neurodegenerative disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which causes progressive muscle loss in patients. Madison’s dissertation focuses on systemic therapies that will work synergistically with commercially available gene therapies.
Publications
Sexton MM, Crow EW and Peng CA (2026) Spinal muscular atrophy in the disease-modifying therapy era: successes, limitations and future directions. Front. Mol. Med. 6:1901311. doi: 10.3389/fmmed.2026.1901311