Kindal Kivisto Award for Promising Young Researchers

 

This year, The PHRF is deeply moved to award the “Kindal Kivisto Award for Promising Young Researchers,” in honor of Kindal Kivisto a young woman who died far too soon, at the age of 29 this past October. Kindal did not have Pitt Hopkins, but was close friends with the Sandiford family whose daughter, Finley was diagnosed in 2014. In light of this, her family asked that all donations at the funeral be made to the Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation. The outpouring of love and support for this special young woman was overwhelming.  A total of $25,000 was donated to the Pitt Hopkins Research Foundation in memory of Kindal.  Her family wrote to us during this time, and we will never forget them saying that hoped some good could come of this tragedy.

So this year, in honor of Kindal and her family, we are awarding a grant to Dr. Andrew Kennedy of the The Sweatt Lab at The University of Alabama, Birmingham in her name, with the knowledge that the promise taken from her may in some small way be countered by the incredible hope and promise this young researcher creates for our families every day.

Kindal and Family… Thank you for making this possible for our children. You will not be forgotten.