Name: Arnulf H. Koeppen, M.D
Where do you work? VA Medical Center, Albany NY, and Albany Medical College
How long have you been working on FA and who was the first fellow FA researcher you met? 40 years. Dr. Massimo Pandalfo
What got you interested in FA research? The complex clinical and pathological phenotype.
What question or challenge were you setting out to address when you started this work? The pathological process in FA.
What research topics or questions are you currently focused on? Proteins of the nervous system in FA.
What do you hope to achieve or what excites you in FA research? Understand the role of Frataxin among the proteins of the nervous system in FA.
If you have met someone living with FA, please tell us about that interaction. Did it have an impact on your work? While my research deals with autopsy tissues, I am also a clinical neurologist, and I see living patients with FA. My research work translates nicely into understanding what the FA patient must go through.
You serve voluntarily on FARA's Scientific Advisory Board. Please tell us what you see as FARA's key role in the research process. Yes, understand FA and find a therapy