The 2025 Myasthenia Gravis Rare Disease Network (MGNet) Scholar Awardees are Drs. Patricia Sikorski and Alexandra Bayer Wildberger.
Alexandra Bayer Wildberger, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate with Dr. Kevin O’Connor at Yale School of Medicine. She completed a Master in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a PhD in Cell Biology and Immunology at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Dr. Bayer Wildberger’s project proposes to investigate the molecular mechanisms through which autoreactive IgM may contribute to the pathology of acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive MG.
Patricia Sikorski, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate at George Washington University in the Laboratory for Myasthenia Gravis Research, which is directed by Dr. Linda Kusner. Dr. Sikorski completed a Masters and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Sikorski’s project investigates the hypothesis that bias towards a stronger immune response in women drives enhanced differentiation into atypical B cell and dysregulated T cells in the thymus.
About MGNet
MGNet (mgnet.rarediseasesnetwork.org) is one of 20 NIH-funded Rare Disease Clinical Research Network sites. This provides a unique opportunity for myasthenia gravis to enhance all aspects of clinical research in the field and elevates the visibility in the scientific community, and in particular the rare disease community, which consists of nearly 7,000 rare diseases. In partnership with Conquer MG and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, the MGNet Pilot Studies Program provides funding for proposals that are highly innovative investigations in early stages of development.
