Mandy Sellars - Chairperson, GoPI3Ks - Rare Disease Patient Advocate; Fundraiser For Care / Research

Send us Fan Mail Mandy Sellars is the Chairperson of GoPI3Ks charity, which is focused on people with PIK3CA related overgrowth spectrum (PROS), an umbrella term for a group of very rare syndromes characterized by malformations and tissue overgrowth, caused by somatic mutations in PIK3CA gene. PIK3CA stands for phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase, catalytic sub-unit alpha, a gene that encodes a lipid kinase involved in multiple signaling pathways, influencing cellular functions such as growth, death, and proliferation. Ms. Sellars herself also possesses a very rare form of this genetic mutation that has resulted in extraordinary growth in both of her legs, but in PROS diseases individual malformations are seen in several different tissues such as skin, vasculature, bone, fat and brain tissue, depending on the specific disease. Ms. Sellars obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Central Lancashire and has become a patient advocate, fundraiser for care and research, as well as a reality star along the way. Support the show