When Nancy Wexler began researching Huntington's disease in 1969, no one knew how to determine which offspring of parents with the disease had inherited the abnormal gene. But Nancy also had a personal challenge. She and her older sister Alice were among those at risk of getting the disease. To deal with both challenges Nancy began searching for the gene that causes HD. Finding the gene might lead to a cure!

In 1983 Nancy and her fellow scientists found a "marker" or clue to the location for the HD gene. After this discovery many scientists from six international labs worked together to search for the gene. They were called the "Gene Hunters," and after 10 years of hard work, they found the gene! Newspapers and television channels from around the world hailed both successful finds. Nancy and the Venezuelan villagers who had donated their blood even appeared on the TV show 60 Minutes.

Because the Gene Hunters have found the gene, there is hope that treatments and cures will also be found. People at risk for HD can now be tested to see if they'll develop the disease. Still, it's a tough decision to make. What if you learned that you would develop HD, knowing there's no cure or treatment available? What would you do with the information? Nancy understands this dilemma firsthand and she counsels people about it.

Today Nancy is a professor at New York's Columbia University. Her research still takes her around the world to Italy, Spain, China, Peru, and other countries. The advances that she and her colleagues have made in Huntington's disease research have also helped research being done on other genetic diseases, too.