A Moment of Transition for the Berman-Topper Fellowship
For nearly a decade, the Berman-Topper Family HD Career Development Fellowship has played a central role in strengthening the Huntington’s disease research community. Created to support early-career scientists at a critical stage, the fellowship provided stability, protected time, and credibility when it mattered most. The result has been a generation of researchers whose work continues to shape how Huntington’s disease is understood and studied.
Since its launch, the program has supported fourteen fellows across nine cohorts, spanning genetic modifiers, huntingtin protein structure, biomarker development, therapeutic strategies, stem cell models, advanced imaging, and population health. Many alumni now lead independent laboratories, contribute to major collaborative efforts, or hold leadership roles in academic, nonprofit, and industry settings. Collectively, their work has advanced key areas of HD biology, clarified disease-driving mechanisms, and generated tools and insights that are directly informing therapeutic development.
That basic science investment is now intersecting with a rapidly advancing treatment pipeline. The HD field has reached a point where earlier biological insights are translating into concrete therapeutic strategies, including huntingtin-lowering approaches, treatments targeting somatic instability, and gene-based interventions. Several of these programs are moving into or through clinical trials, bringing the field closer to outcomes that matter to families. This progress would not be possible without the sustained, human-centered research that programs like the Berman-Topper Fellowship made possible.
Looking ahead, HDSA is continuing to adapt its research strategy to meet the needs of a shifting field. As therapeutic programs mature and new scientific questions emerge, we are focused on supporting the next set of opportunities where targeted investments can have the greatest impact. For this reason, HDSA will pause new awards for the Berman-Topper Fellowship for the coming year while we evaluate the program’s outcomes and refine our research strategy to meet a rapidly changing scientific landscape. This is a strategic evolution, focused on where targeted funding can be most catalytic right now, not a step away from research or from emerging investigators.
Supporting early-career researchers remains essential to HDSA. This pause gives us the opportunity to shape the next phase of support in a way that better fits today’s landscape—aligned with emerging research priorities and the needs of the community.
The foundation built by the fellowship is firmly in place, and its impact is visible across the HD research landscape. We recognize how meaningful this program has been to the community, and we share deep gratitude for everyone who has been part of it. We encourage researchers, families, and partners to stay connected as we share updates on new initiatives and funding opportunities in the months ahead.
The legacy of the Berman-Topper Fellowship is not defined by a single grant cycle, but by the people it empowered and the momentum it helped create. That momentum continues, and it is carrying the field toward a future where effective treatments are within reach.
We look forward to sharing what comes next.
2025 Berman-Topper HD Career Development Fellows
Dr. Elizabeth Tidwell, University of Michigan
Mentor: Dr. Melanie Ohi
Project Title: Determining the structure of Huntingtin RNA and RNA-protein complexes using single particle cryo-electron microscopy
Dr. Tidwell’s 2025 Berman-Topper HD Career Development Fellowship seeks to understand how the expanded CAG repeat in the gene that causes Huntington’s disease may change the 3D structure of its RNA (the molecular message for the huntingtin protein) and disrupt how it interacts with other molecules in the cell. Her research uses advanced cryo-electron microscopy to generate detailed models that could help explain early molecular dysfunction in HD. These insights may ultimately inform future therapeutic approaches.
