Non-invasive biometric screening for cerebrovascular disorders in persons with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common genetic disorders with a prevalence of 1 per 700 liveborn infants in the United States and is associated with an increased risk of developing cerebrovascular disorders (CeVD), which commonly present with stroke as the first evidence of disease. The proposed research will result in the creation of a validated, non-invasive, low-cost, biometric screening tool for young persons with DS in order to address the pressing need of reliable screening of CeVD in at-risk individuals. This proposal presents a five-year research career development program with training that will position me with a unique set of interdisciplinary skills to enable transition to independence as a physician-scientist to study the prediction and prevention of CeVD in persons with DS.