About the Fellowship

The Edward Jekkal Muscular Dystrophy Research Fellowship is designed to strengthen the training of senior postdoctoral students or young research faculty members interested in neuromuscular disease research. The fellowship is a one-year award with the possibility of a second year of funding. Application forms are available in PDF or MS Word format.

The fellowship is funded through the generosity of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the late Edward Jekkal, an AT&T mechanical designer who lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jekkal is remembered for his kindness and generosity and the talent that enabled him to design assistive devices to compensate for disabilities.

Creation of the fellowship was furthered by Leonard S. Jacob, MD, PhD, an MCP alumnus who was a Board of Trustees member and a friend of the Jekkal family. The Jekkal estate and the MDA contributed to establish the fellowship, with a matching contribution from Drexel University.

Drexel University will provide the training environment that will assist the fellow in establishing an independent multidisciplinary research program. Interested applicants will be expected to work with a primary sponsor at Drexel University for the purpose of establishing a host laboratory and developing the proposal. Junior research faculty at Drexel University can submit an independent application with emphasis on a plan for the development of their academic career. The typical postdoctoral applicant will already have completed several years of postdoctoral research training and be about to move into a faculty position, and can also be junior faculty. Special consideration will also be given to MDs who have completed their residency training and will be in the position to plan and execute a research program while receiving input and guidance from a core group of faculty, in addition to their primary sponsor.

This core training group will be drawn from faculty having demonstrated strengths in the physiology and pathology of neuromuscular and spinal disorders, molecular biology of transmitter receptors and ion channels, regulation of contractile activity in muscles, and the structural organization and regenerative capacity of neurons. The sponsor will be responsible for providing the primary training and the host laboratory.

Jekkal Fellowship Advisory Committee

• Itzhak Fischer, PhD, Chair
• Leonard Jacob, MD, PhD
• Peter Baas, PhD
• Simon Giszter, PhD
• John Houle, PhD
• Veronica Tom, PhD

Jekkal Fellowship Training Faculty

• Jessica Ausborn, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Ausborn Lab
• Peter W. Baas, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Baas Lab
• Marie-Pascale Côté, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Côté Lab
• Simon Danner, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Danner Lab
• Megan Detloff, PhD: View Profile
• Kimberly Dougherty, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Dougherty Lab
• Itzhak Fischer, PhD: View Profile |  Visit the Fischer Lab
• Simon Giszter, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Giszter Lab
• Michael Lane, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Lane Lab
• Liang Oscar Qiang, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Qiang Lab
• Ramesh Raghupathi, PhD: View Profile
• Ilya Rybak, PhD: View Profile
• Veronica J. Tom, PhD: View Profile | Visit the Tom Lab

The Edward Jekkal Muscular Dystrophy Association Fellowship Application Procedures

Purpose

This program has been established to strengthen the training program for senior postdoctoral fellows about to move into faculty positions or junior research faculty members, including physician scientists, interested in neuromuscular disease research at Drexel University. The fellowship carries an annual award of $60,000, which can be used to cover salary support, fringe benefits and research expenses, with the possibility of a second year of funding.

Applicants are expected to identify a sponsor from within the training faculty at Drexel University and to prepare an application with the sponsor, who will provide the research support and, if appropriate, a salary supplement. Junior faculty at Drexel University can submit an independent application. The research project should be in an area consistent with the objectives of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, including muscle and motoneuron disorders, muscle structure and physiology, motor control, injury and paralysis.

The deadline to apply for the 2023 Jekkal Fellowship has passed.

 
 Back to Top