Dr. Walkley, director emeritus of the RFK IDDRC, recently attended the graduation of Sarah Forsman at Rowan University in New Jersey. Sarah was born with an ultra-rare genetic brain disease known as alpha-mannosidosis that causes intellectual disability, severe ataxia leading to wheelchair-dependency and death in the third decade of life. However, Sarah was given a bone marrow transplant in 1999 when she was four years old. This treatment was based on studies that Dr. Walkley’s lab had published in 1994 showing that this procedure was curative for this disorder. Sarah earned her B.S. in Marketing with honors and among other career interests has become a spokesperson for others born with rare genetic diseases.