Stefan Strack, Professor of Pharmacology, was awarded a 2-year grant from the Fondation de l’Ataxie Charlevoix Saguenay, a private foundation based in Montreal, Canada, to help find cures for a debilitating neurological disorder called ARSACS (Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix Saguenay). ARSACS is particularly common in rural areas of Quebec and is caused by mutations in a protein (sacsin) that is required for full activity of the mitochondrial fission enzyme Drp1. Mice that lack sacsin faithfully model ARSACS neuropathology and have elongated mitochondria, likely because Drp1-dependent mitochondrial division is impaired. Strack’s group has developed a novel chemo-genetic technique to inducibly drive mitochondrial division in select neuronal populations. By restoring mitochondrial division, they hope to prevent neurodegeneration in ARSACS model mice. If successful, the project would provide proof-of-concept for mitochondria-targeted therapies for this and related neurological disorders.