2023 MitoScholars Empowering youth living with mitochondrial disease to focus on their futures

Kerrianne Kozack | Tsawwassen, British Columbia | BAH Psychology (2nd year) Queen’s University – Kingston, Ontario

Meet Kerrianne Kozack, a university student from British Columbia who lives with LHON. LHON is a maternally inherited multi-organ mitochondrial disorder that appears in a person’s teens or twenties.

After struggling with unexplained symptoms for years, Kerrianne was finally diagnosed with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). This restricts the physical activities she can partake in due to her exercise intolerance, fatigue, and migraines, and she has to be conscious of how she paces herself. “As my academics are immensely important to me, this often means missing out on peer and social activities to prioritize my health and education,” she says.

Kerrianne shares, ““Thank you so much for selecting me for the MitoScholars 2023 scholarship. This will make a huge impact on my education this year.”

We’re thrilled to support Kerrianne in her studies and wish her all the best for the year ahead!