Two University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty members have been awarded Williams-Cannon Faculty Fellowships through the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. Abbey Dvorak, PhD, associate professor of music therapy, and Daniel Summers, PhD, assistant professor of biology, will each receive $47,500 in research funding.

Created through a gift to the UI Center for Advancement from Sue and Frank Cannon, the fellowships support faculty research in neurodegeneration. 

Dvorak’s research is focused on the effectiveness of music therapy intervention for people with neurodegenerative conditions and their families. As many as 90% of people with Parkinson’s disease experience speech and voice-related symptoms as the disease progresses. With music therapy clinician Sun Joo Lee, Dvorak’s team is exploring the potential for combining therapeutic group singing and semi-occluded vocal tract exercises as an innovative and effective therapeutic intervention for speech and communication symptoms of Parkinson’s. She also plans to develop a training workbook with corresponding online exercises and resources that could expand access to music therapy for patients in rural areas.

The Summers lab studies a process called axon degeneration. Axons are long structures that relay information throughout the brain, controlling sensation, movement, and memory. The degeneration of these unique structures is a significant event in many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. The Summers lab is working to determine how genetic background affects a process called local axon translation and thereby influences susceptibility to degeneration. His goal is to identify novel ways to boost axon resilience or even repair damaged neurons.

The Cannons’ gift and their passion to support research stems from seeing their loved ones affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They are committed to helping Iowa researchers leave a mark in the important study of this disease and others like it, in hopes that there will be better outcomes and therapies for patients and families.