Jimena Giudice, PhD has received a Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award from the March of Dimes Foundation. The mission of the March of Dimes Foundation is to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Awards support junior scientists embarking on their independent research careers. This award of $150,000 will provide Dr. Giudice and her lab team with funding for two years to study the role of alternative splicing regulation in the development of muscles after birth.