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The first big break in the study of Huntington's disease came from scientists working in laboratories in Massachusetts, California, England and Wales.

But the cure may come from Hood College.

Ricky Hirschhorn, a biology professor at Hood, has received the Academic Research Enhancement Award from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda to expand her search for a treatment of Huntington's disease — a rare and incurable neurological disorder that starts with involuntary movements and slowly robs patients of their ability to walk, talk and think.

The $230,000 grant will support Hirschhorn's research and create an unparalleled opportunity for Hood College students to become involved in the project through paid internships.

"It is very exciting," said Hirschhorn, who started working on the project with three students this summer. "… It provides an opportunity for students to get involved in an ongoing research project. It's an opportunity to do real science, as opposed to textbook science."

Hirschhorn's hope is to come up with a treatment that could cure or delay the progression of the disease. Such treatment could help 30,000 Americans who are diagnosed with Huntington's disease and 200,000 who are at risk of developing it.

Although it is as common as cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease is not widely known, and for decades patients were misdiagnosed, Hirschhorn said.

The most famous victim of the disease was folk singer Woody Guthrie, who wrote "This Land is Your Land."

Huntington's disease is a hereditary genetic disorder, and parents have a 50-50 chance of passing it on to a child.

The disease develops in adults in their 30s to 50s, according to the Huntington's Disease Society of America. It can start with short-term memory loss, involuntary movements and mood swings, but it worsens gradually until individuals become unable to care for themselves. Patients die within 10 to 20 years from complications such as choking or infections.

There is no treatment or cure.

Hirschhorn started studying Huntington's in 2004, and has received grants from the Hood College Board of Associates and through the Summer Science Research Institute at Hood, allowing her to involve students in her research.

Hirschhorn has also collaborated with Christopher Ross, an expert in the research of Huntington's disease and the director of the Baltimore Huntington's Disease Center of Excellence at The John's Hopkins University.

These experiences were the main reason Hirschhorn was selected for the award, said Margaret Sutherland, program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The goal of the award typically aims to encourage colleges to provide students with more opportunities for hands-on scientific research, Sutherland said. Hirschhorn said she is ready to take advantage of that opportunity.

This summer, she started working on the project with three undergraduate students. For eight weeks, students practiced the basics of laboratory research and learned how to grow cells, monitor their development and set up the foundation for experimental research, she said.

They will continue with the next phase of the project in the fall, when they start doing tests and experiments, Hirschhorn said.

"We are trying to create a cell system in a lab to mimic the disease," she said.

The goal of Hirschhorn's team will be to create a cell system with the disease that can be treated, experimented with, and monitored for changes and improvements

However, it may take years before students can see the fruits of their labor, Hirschhorn said. "It takes 15 to 20 years to develop a drug," she said.

However, Hirschhorn said she hopes that the experience will give her students a real insight into long-term science research and allow them to determine if that is a field they want to work in.

For now, she tries to pick sophomores so they can have more time to stay on the project.

Erin McClure was one of the Hood College students who worked with Hirschhorn on her Huntington's disease project before she graduated from Hood in May.

McClure, who is working on her doctoral degree on cancer and cellular biology at Albany Medical College in Albany, N.Y., said the experience was rewarding and gave her a unique opportunity to peek into the world of medical research.

"No one seems to mention to you as a freshman attempting to choose a major that science is mostly failures with the occasional serendipitous finding," McClure wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette.

"Overall, I would say I learned more from independent research at Hood college, then I did in any of my lecture/lab classes," McClure wrote.

E-mail Margarita Raycheva at mraycheva@gazette.net.