Science didn’t understand my kids’ rare disease until I decided to study it

A group of inherited, progressive connective tissue disorders affecting the skin, eyes and cardiovascular system. The condition is characterized by calcium deposits in the connective tissue which affects its ability to function. Some cases remain undiagnosed to the mildness of symptoms.

Meet Sharon Terry, a former college chaplain and stay-at-home mom who took the medical research world by storm when her two young children were diagnosed with a rare disease known as pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). In this knockout talk, Terry explains how she and her husband became citizen scientists, working midnight shifts at the lab to find the gene behind PXE and establishing mandates that require researchers to share biological samples and work together.