The American Brain Foundation and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America have awarded Shruti Raja, MD, their Clinician-Scientist Development Award for her clinical research relating to myasthenia gravis (MG). The three-year grant provides an annual salary of $75,000 plus an annual $5,000 for educational expenses and will be awarded at the 2019 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) meeting in Philadelphia this May.
Raja received the award for her project, “Real world outcomes of surgical and medical management in myasthenia gravis.” While there are several current therapies for MG surgical and medical management varies from location to location, and there is little reliable evidence for which therapies are most effective.
"This is very exciting project," said Donald Sanders, MD, Professor of Neurology, and a national leader in MG research. "It will analyze real-world data to help physicians and patients with MG determine how best to manage the disease."
Raja's project will use large, rigorous, multicenter databases to analyze which surgical approaches and long-term medical management strategies for MG are most effective and associated with the fewest complications. Results from this project will provide data immediately applicable to the management of patients in the clinic. Her work will also generate preliminary data for an even larger project to prospectively evaluate long-term neurological outcomes following thymectomy and perform a cost-benefit analysis of those approaches.
"We are very excited to work with Dr. Raja on her important research project," said Jeffrey Guptill, MD, MHS. "The ABF/MGFA award will provide the resources, mentorship, and didactic training to develop clinical research skills that will serve her throughout her clinical research career.