2022 Young Investigator Draft

During the 2022 Uplifting Athletes Young Investigator Draft, our own Scientific Advisory Board member Maurizio Risolino, PhD is one of 9 rare disease researchers who will receive a grant to continue studying rare diseases like Isolated Congenital Asplenia. Maurizio's grant, co-funded by Uplifting Athletes and T.E.A.M. 4 Travis, allows him to continue seeking a better understanding of the genetic cause for ICA, and helping develop a test to discover this deadly disease in the prenatal period or through Newborn Screening.

This special night spotlights Maurizio and the other researchers, allowing them to experience the same excitement and royal treatment an elite athlete enjoys when they are drafted from college into their professional sport. Uplifting Athletes recognizes the hard work, dedication, determination and extensive training these researchers display while studying rare diseases in the search for a cause, diagnosis, treatment and cure. Unlike top-tier athletes, these doctors often toil in labs, often without fanfare or media coverage of their efforts.

The draft is held at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Get your free Virtual Ticket! to share in the excitement of this very special evening, and a milestone for T.E.A.M. 4 Travis!