Science for All Seasons: A personal journey to understand and overcome prion disease

Soon after losing her mother to genetic prion disease in 2010, Sonia Vallabh and her husband, Eric Minikel, learned that Sonia had inherited a mutation that put her at high risk for this progressive, degenerative, and currently untreatable disorder. The result upended their lives, and launched them on a now decade-long journey to understand the roots of prion disease and, hopefully, find a way to prevent it before it strikes. Along the way, they have helped redefine the nature of prion disease, and built a community of scientists, patients, and families that are walking the path with them.