Small dollars, big discoveries

Before patients ever walk through a clinic door, researchers at SIU School of Medicine are asking questions that could shape tomorrow’s care: Why does movement slow with age? What makes hearing fade? How do cells protect themselves from harmful mistakes in DNA?

Those questions are driving three Fall 2025 Research Seed Grants, early investments that help scientists build the foundation for future breakthroughs.

This cycle drew unusually strong interest from faculty across campuses, and four awards were made. Three recipients are highlighted here as part of SIU's broader research strengths. Another awardee, Dr. Bany, whose work will be featured in a future story, also earned support in this cycle.

Burgess: How do brain cells keep us moving?

Rebecca Burgess, PhD, traces her scientific curiosity back to childhood, when she peered through a microscope alongside her father, a pathologist. Today, she studies the mechanisms regulating a cell’s delicate balance of proteins.

That balance of proteins, a process called proteostasis, is especially critical in neurons that control motor function. Disruption of these systems can underlie progressive motor problems seen in conditions like ataxia and other degenerative disorders.

“If we can understand the mechanism that leads to dysfunction, we can think about how to intervene,” Burgess said.

Her lab strives to understand how cellular systems falter over time and how those changes may mirror what might occur in humans. The seed grant supports the development of new models and assays that will form the basis of future, larger studies.

Miyoshi: Seeing hearing at the smallest scale

Takushi Miyoshi, MD, PhD, investigates hearing loss from the perspective of molecular dynamics. His work focuses on stereocilia, tiny hair-like structures in the inner ear that are essential for detecting sound.

When stereocilia fail, hearing loss often follows, and treatment options to restore function remain limited.

Miyoshi combines advanced single-molecule imaging with genetics to watch how motor proteins move within stereocilia. His method, termed STELLA-diSPIM, is based on diSPIM light-sheet microscopy and was recently published in Nature Communications (2025).

This seed grant helps him refine methods that let him trigger and visualize protein movements in live cells, a technical challenge that requires repeated experimentation to perfect.

“The inner ear structure is very complex, and even a single genetic change can cause hearing loss,” Miyoshi said.

By visualizing how proteins and their cargo move in real time, Miyoshi hopes to improve genetic diagnosis and eventually inform therapeutic approaches for sensorineural hearing loss.

Kadyrov: Guarding the blueprint of life

Farid Kadyrov, PhD, focuses on mismatch repair, a molecular proofreading system that corrects DNA replication errors. When mismatch repair fails, mutations accumulate, increasing the risk of inherited cancer syndromes and many sporadic cancers.

Kadyrov’s work seeks to uncover previously unknown aspects of the repair process, filling gaps in scientists' understanding of this essential safeguard.

Mismatch repair does more than fix errors. It is involved in controlling how DNA replicates and responds to damage, and it has roles in immune function and causes certain neurodegenerative conditions when it goes awry.

Through his seed grant, Kadyrov hopes to uncover fundamental insights into how human cells preserve genetic stability—knowledge that could eventually inform cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Local research with a wide reach

These seed grants reflect SIU School of Medicine’s broader commitment to research that matters locally and resonates globally. By supporting early-stage ideas, the program helps faculty generate the preliminary data needed for external funding, bringing momentum and recognition back to the region.

For patients and families in central and southern Illinois, that means rigorous inquiry and future possibilities happen close to home, from movement and hearing to the very molecules that keep us healthy.