The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awards the funding to individual investigators who have demonstrated exceptional scientific excellence and productivity in research. The award guarantees funding to neuroscientists for up to seven years. It will enable Strittmatter, who has a particular expertise in axonal guidance and signal transduction, to further study signaling pathways and loss of function studies in animal models of disease.
"This award will provide substantial resources to continue our investigations of axon growth and guidance in the brain," Strittmatter said. "We are hopeful that insights gained from these studies will lead to novel therapeutic approaches to treat axonal dysfunction in a range of neurological disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis."
Findings resulting from Strittmatter's research may provide novel insight into how nervous system connectivity is assembled or misassembled during development and will aid in the design of therapies based on axonal growth and regeneration.
The Javits awards were instituted in 1983 in honor of U.S. Sen. Jacob Javits of New York, who was a strong advocate for research on a variety of neurological disorders. Javits suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disabling neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"The Javits award gives highly productive scientists, whose work is on the cutting edge in their field, an even greater opportunity to understand the interplay involved in the cause and, hopefully, treatment or even prevention of neurological diseases," said NINDS Director Story Landis.
Strittmatter was one of six neuroscientists to receive the award this year.