EXPANDING OUR NETWORK OF RESEARCH PARTNERS In February, STAR representatives attended the World Symposium of Rare Diseases in Orlando, Florida. At this conference, a research group from the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California, (CHOC) won a “Young Investigators” Award for its research on Pompe disease leveraging various gene editing techniques through the Center for Advancing Rare Disease Editing (CARE). STAR was approached by the CHOC team, led by Dr. Raymond Wang, to gauge our interest in forming a partnership. Based on the guidance of our Scientific Advisory Board, led by Dr. Steven Walkley, Dr. Melissa Wasserstein, and Dr. William Gahl, we have integrated CHOC's efforts to the ongoing research at the NIH and Einstein College of Medicine. We are thrilled to have three preeminent institutions now collaborating, sharing cell models, mouse models, and other knowledge to fast track Salla research! Our expanded research team from CHOC now includes: Jerry Harb, MS, Research Associate, CHOC/CARE Dr. Jefferey Y. Huang, Ph.D., Founder and Senior Scientist, CHOC Center for Advancing Rare Disease Editing (CARE) Dr. Shih-Shin Kan, Ph.D., Scientist II at CHOC Dr. Raymond Wang, M.D., Director, CHOC Multidisciplinary Lysosomal Storage Disorder Program 4