Faculty
The Center faculty members are from seven clinical and four basic science departments in the Medical School, as well as from clinical and basic science department in the Veterinary School, the College of Biological Sciences and the Institute of Technology. Please click here for membership application (coming soon) Members listed alphabetically:
Atsushi Asakura, PhD
asakura@umn.edu
Dr. Asakura has played an important role in the identification and development of stem cells that have the potential for treating muscular dystrophy. He is joining Minnesota faculty to play an important role in organizing and extending the University’s stem cell research efforts into the fields of muscular dystrophy and cardiac failure. Vincent Barnett, PhD
barne014@umn.edu Dr. Barnett completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1987 and he has been a faculty member of the Department of Physiology since 1993. He is a recognized expert on how modification of the proteins essential for muscle activity impacts muscle function. His understanding of muscle elasticity, contraction and force generation is providing a novel approach towards ameliorating muscle deterioration. Gregory Beilman, MD
beilm001@umn.edu Dr. Beilman, a general surgeon, who is interested in the effects of metabolic stress on muscle has studied muscle function and energetics in critically ill patients. This understanding of muscle energy production and metabolism provides necessary insight into the energy failure that is an aspect of all muscle. Bianca Conti-Fine, MD, PhD
conti001@umn.edu Dr. Fine is a neurologist and biochemist who is particularly interested in defining and controlling inflammation, which is a component of all muscle diseases John W. Day, MD, PhD
jwday@stanford.edu Dr. Day received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota, PhD in cellular neurophysiology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and neurology training at USCF. He returned to Minnesota in 1992 to head the Muscle Clinic, attends clinics at both the University and Gillette Medical Centers, and has translational and clinical research programs in muscular dystrophy.
William Durfee, PhD
wkdurfee@umn.edu Dr. Durfee works on identifying the mechanical and electrical properties of muscle in response to electrical stimulation, with applications to prosthetic devices and to disease characterization. James M. Ervasti, PhD
jervasti@umn.edu Dr. Ervasti primarily studies the structure and cellular function of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, which spans the muscle cell plasma membrane (or sarcolemma) and links the cortical actin cytoskeleton with the extracellular matrix. Greater understanding of the physiologic role of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex is necessary to understand how its absence or abnormality leads to Duchenne muscular dystrophy and forms of human dilated cardiomyopathy. Deborah Ferrington, PhD
ferri013@umn.edu Dr. Ferrington is studying how specific proteins change during the muscle wasting that accompanies aging or inactivity. The proteins under investigation are those involved in removing damaged proteins from the cell. Daniel Garry, MD, PhD
garry@umn.edu Dr. Garry examines—on a molecular level—the development of heart cells. This includes heart stem cells and heart progenitor cells. If successful, his research may contribute to advances and cell therapies for patients with common and deadly congenital heart disease and advanced heart failure. Paul Iaizzo, PhD
iaizz001@umn.edu Dr. Iaizzo, a Professor in the Department of Surgery with joint appointments in Anesthesiology and Physiology, specializes in applied physiology and outcomes research. He is on the graduate faculties in Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience and Physiology and is also the Director for Education for the Lillehei Heart Institute. Peter Karachunski, MD
karac001@umn.edu Dr. Karachunski received his M.D. from Russian State Medical University in Moscow. His residency sites include: Children's Hospital - Moscow (Pediatric Neurology); University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital (Pediatric Neurology) with his fellowships at: University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital (Clinical Research, Neuromuscular, Clinical Neurophysiology). He currently attends clinics at both the University of MN and Gillette Medical Centers. Michael Kyba, PhD
kyba@umn.edu Dr. Kyba is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He is also a member of the Lillehei Heart Institute, and an affiliate member of the Stem Cell Institute.
Kelvin Lim, MD
kolim@umn.edu Dr. Lim is a psychiatrist and neuroimaging researcher who is interested in characterizing the central nervous system aspects of muscular dystrophy, using novel MRI methods available at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (cmrr.umn.edu). Dawn Lowe, PhD
lowex017@umn.edu Dr. Lowe is studying the effects of muscle training and deterioration in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Linda McLoon, PhD
mcloo001@umn.edu Dr. McLoon is studying a unique process of myofiber remodeling in mammalian extraocular muscles, in part to understand why these muscles are completely spared in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. James Mickelson, PhD
micke001@umn.edu Dr. Mickelson is a biochemist and geneticist who has investigated the molecular causes of metabolic failure and abnormal regulation of muscle contractility in a number of genetic disorders of domestic animal species including dogs and horses.
Joseph M. Metzger, PhD
metzgerj@umn.edu
Dr. Metzger is Professor and Chair of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of Minnesota. Some of his research interests include: integrative systems biology of cardiovascular function, cardiac genetic engineering and experimental cardia gene therapy, transgenic models of heart disease, and molecular mechanisms of sarcomere function. Gareth Parry, MD
parry001@umn.edu Dr. Parry is an internally recognized neuromuscular clinician who is one of the principle muscular dystrophy clinicians at the University. His primary interest is in the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorders and he serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the CMT Association and is an ad hoc adviser to DMT International. He is the former head of the Department of Neurology at the University.
Rita Perlingeiro, PhD
perli032@umn.edu
Dr. Perlingeiro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, and member of the Lillehei Heart Institute. In 2010, Dr. Perlingeiro was awarded a NIH grant titled “Examining the Therapeutic Potential of iPS Cells in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”. Elsa Shapiro, PhD
shapi004@umn.edu Dr. Shapiro, a pediatric neuropsychologist and former head of Pediatric Neurology, studies the maturation and degeneration of central nervous system function in children with degenerative disorders including muscular dystrophy. David Thomas, PhD
ddt@umn.edu Dr. Thomas is a MERIT Scholar of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease, whose primary research focuses on muscle force generation at the single molecular level, using molecular biology and spectroscopic probes. He has recently applied this technology to explore the molecular basis of muscle degeneration. LaDora Thompson, PhD
thomp067@umn.edu Dr. Thompson is a physiologist and physical therapist. Dr. Thompson’s research is focused on identifying the cellular mechanisms that are involved in age-related and inactivity-induced skeletal muscle weakness. The long-term goal of her research program is to identify therapeutic interventions to prevent muscle weakness. Margaret A. Titus, PhD
titus004@umn.edu Dr. Titus is a biochemist and molecular biologist who investigates molecular aspects of contractile proteins necessary for muscle function. Stephanie Valberg, DMV, PhD
valbe001@umn.edu Dr. Valberg is a large animal veterinarian who is studying clinical and genetic basis of muscle disorders in horses as well as dietary and pharmacological methods for their treatment. David Walk, MD
walkx001@umn.edu Dr. Walk is one of the principal neuromuscular neurologists at the University of Minnesota. He sees patients with adult-onset muscular dystrophies and myopathies as well as neuropathy and ALS. Richard Ziegler, PhD
ziegl002@umn.edu Dr. Ziegler is a pediatric neuropsychologist who has a specific interest in the developmental and degenerative aspects of central nervous system involvement in both Duchenne and myotonic dystrophies.
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