LGMD RESEARCHER: Pia Elustondo
LGMD RESEARCHER: Dr. Pia Elustondo Affiliation: AGADA Biosciences Role or Position: Director of Research What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I have a broad background; I studied biochemistry and mechanisms of human disease during my undergraduate and graduate degrees. During my postdoctoral studies, I focused on mitochondrial function in stroke and neurodegenerative disease models (Niemann Pick) before joining the muscular dystrophy community. I wanted to expand my expertise to other disease conditions such as muscular dystrophies, and, in 2018, I joined AGADA Biosciences, a company that specializes in neuromuscular dystrophies. I started in [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Katherine Mathews
LGMD Spotlight Interview on Research LGMD RESEARCHER: Katherine D. Mathews Affiliation: University Of Iowa, Departments of Pedaitrics and Neurology Role or Position: Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology Vice Chair of Cinical Investigation, Department of Pediatrics What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I completed residency training in pediatrics, neurology and child neurology, then completed a fellowship in genetics. My basic science research focused on the genetic basis of muscular dystrophy. There was a logical transition to a clinical focus on muscular dystrophy later in my career. What led you to follow [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Antoine Dufour
“LGMD SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH” Researcher: Antoine Dufour Affiliation: University of Calgary Role or Position: Assistant Professor What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? BA, SUNY Oswego, NY MSc and PhD, Stony Brook University, NY Post-Doctoral fellowship, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada What led you to follow a career in research and in studying muscular dystrophy in particular? 2 reasons: 1- I study molecular scissors termed proteases and they have multiple functions all aspects of life, biological functions and in diverse muscular [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: H. Criss Hartzell
"LGMD SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH" LGMD RESEARCHER: H. Criss Hartzell Affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine Role or Position: Professor What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? B.A. Lawrence University, major in Chemistry and Biology Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University in Biology. Postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School Department of Neurobiology What led you to follow a career in research and in studying muscular dystrophy in particular? I have always been interested in science from as young as I can remember. In college I read a scientific American article on the cross bridge theory of [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Qi Lu
"LGMD SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH" LGMD RESEARCHER: Dr. Qi Lu Affiliation: McColl Lockwood Laboratory for Muscular Dystrophy Research Role or Position: Director, McColl Lockwood laboratory for muscular dystrophy research, Carolinas Medical center, Atrium Health, Charlotte What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I have a degree in medicine in China and obtained Ph.D. degree From London University, UK What led you to follow a career in research and in studying muscular dystrophy in particular? I had been trained as a pathologist for many years prior to my Ph.D. study in London, and naturally have been [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Linda Lowes
LGMD “Spotlight Interview on Research” LGMD RESEARCHER: Linda Lowes Affiliation: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio USA Role or Position: Principal Investigator, Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I initially received my BS degree from The Ohio State University to become a physical therapist. After working as a clinician I realized I was passionate about clinical research so I went back to school at Hahnemann University to obtain my Ph.D. I have worked in neuromuscular rare diseases for the past 10 years. What [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Melissa Spencer
LGMD “Spotlight Interview on Research” LGMD Researcher: Melissa Spencer Affiliation: UCLA University of California Los Angeles Role or Position: Professor of Neurology, Director of Neuromuscular Program, Co-Director of Center for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I had not had an interest in science during high school and had started college as a dance major. In fact, I only took one science course in high school, Physiology. In college, I took a general physiology class and became so interested in the subject, I changed my major and graduated with a [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Mattia Quattrocelli
LGMD “Spotlight Interview on Research” LGMD RESEARCHER: Mattia Quattrocelli Affiliation: McNally’s laboratory, Center for Genetic Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL Role or Position: Postdoctoral Fellow What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? After a degree in cellular and molecular biology in Italy, I completed my PhD and first postdoctoral appointment at the University of Leuven in Belgium, studying novel regenerative strategies for Duchenne and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies. Since the summer of 2015, I joined Northwestern University in Chicago, IL for my second postdoctoral appointment, fueled by support from the Muscular [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Charles P. Emerson, Jr., Ph.D.
LGMD “Spotlight Interview on Research” LGMD RESEARCHER: Charles P. Emerson, Jr., Ph.D. Affiliation: Professor of Neurology; Director, UMMS Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Program What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? My undergraduate degree major was in biology/biochemistry and included three summers of research on muscle protein biochemistry, a transformative experience that opened my eyes to the excitement of research discovery and lead me to pursue a career in biomedical research, work that still excites me. My graduate degree and research training was in emerging fields of molecular and cell biology, focused on application of [...]
LGMD RESEARCHER: Jeffrey S. Chamberlain, Ph.D.
"LGMD SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH" LGMD Researcher: Jeffrey S. Chamberlain, Ph.D. Affiliation: University of Washington School of Medicine Role or Position: Professor, McCaw Chair in Muscular Dystrophy, Director, Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Research Center-Seattle What education and training did you have to arrive at your current position? I earned a B.A. and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, then did post-doctoral training in Molecular Genetics What led you to follow a career in research and in studying muscular dystrophy in particular? While working on my Ph.D. I became interested in muscle development and started learning about muscle diseases. I did post-doctoral training studying Duchenne [...]
