Deborah Requesens, PhD, is the Director of the Orphan Disease Center’s JumpStart Program. This program serves to establish and progress research agendas in emerging and neglected diseases. She partners with patient groups and scientists to encourage scientific collaboration and drive therapeutic development for rare diseases. Deborah is the co-founder of SHER (Hispanic Society for Rare Diseases), an organization that promotes awareness about rare diseases in the Hispanic population and aims to increase the participation of this community in rare disease research.