Rosalind Franklin University received its first-ever Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health-Institute of General Medical Sciences. The five-year, $2.1 million MIRA was awarded to David Mueller, PhD, professor, Center for Genetic Diseases, for his research study “Structure and Mechanism of the Mitochondrial ATP Synthase and Batten Disease Gene Product, Cln3p.”

Dr. Mueller’s study uses structural and molecular biology to study both the mitochondrial ATP synthase and Batten disease, a deadly, genetic neurodegenerative disease that affects young children. While there currently is no cure for Batten disease, the hope is that studies such as this can pave the way toward a better understanding of the disease and ways to treat it.

According to the NIH website, the goal of MIRA is to increase the efficiency of NIGMS funding by providing investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.