Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

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Neuromuscular disease

Ottawa boasts one of the highest concentrations of neuromuscular researchers in the world, including more than 200 scientists, clinicians, trainees and staff and is widely acknowledged to be an international leader in this field.

Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital are investigating promising new approaches to prevent, diagnose and treat a wide range of neuromuscular diseases. Our work spans the full spectrum of research from basic science to clinical research to implementation.

Learn more about The Ottawa Hospital’s neuromuscular research below, or learn about our Neuromuscular Centre, which opened in 2018.

Research News

	Lab study provides new hope for people with rare muscle disease August 29, 2024 - Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and uOttawa played a key role in a study that could lead to a new understanding of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
	The Ottawa Hospital’s future neuroscience institute ‘a game changer’ for ground-breaking treatment March 22, 2023 - Merging cutting-edge research with frontline clinical treatments
	Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital awarded eight grants worth $5 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research August 10, 2021 - These projects will advance science and improve health in areas such as cancer immunotherapy, orthopedic surgery, long-term care, neuromuscular disease, blood clots, vascular disease, aging, kidney disease and Inuit health.
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	Research unravels links between fasting, lifespan and muscle stem cells June 2, 2021 - Intermittent fasting (or skipping meals) has often been reported to increase lifespan in various animals, but the observation that it also affects muscle stem cell function has been less well-studied.
	$1M investment fuels development of new therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy February 1, 2021 - Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy has invested $1M in Satellos Bioscience, a startup company founded by Dr. Michael Rudnicki.
	Dr. Michael Rudnicki elected into the Royal Society April 29, 2020 - Dr. Michael Rudnicki has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the most prestigious and oldest scientific institution in the world. Dr. Rudnicki is an internationally recognized thought leader in molecular genetics and regenerative medicine.
	New neuromuscular network brings patients, scientists and clinicians together February 14, 2020 - Genetic sequencing technology has dramatically increased our ability to diagnose rare neuromuscular diseases, opening the door to earlier and better treatment. A new national network called NMD4C (NeuroMuscular Disease for Canada) hopes to capitalize
	Findings could improve quality of life for people with spinal muscular atrophy September 10, 2019 - People with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) could be at higher risk of cardiovascular and liver disease, according to the most comprehensive study to date. This means that screening for these conditions, establishing nutritional guidelines, and persona
	Dr. Hanns Lochmüller receives Canada Research Chair in Neuromuscular Genomics and Health July 8, 2019 - Dr. Hanns Lochmüller has been awarded a prestigious Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) through the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.
	First step towards a database linking rare diseases with treatment options April 24, 2019 - Dr. Hanns Lochmüller and collaborators have made the first step towards a “treatabolome” – a database that links treatable rare diseases to treatment options.
	New scientist profile: Dr. Hanns Lochmüller investigates rare neuromuscular disorders March 15, 2019 - Dr. Hanns Lochmüller, a neurologist and senior scientist recently recruited to CHEO Research Institute from the U.K., has now also been appointed as an associate scientist in the Neuroscience Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
	Brain Health Awareness Week: October 15-19 October 10, 2018 - Researchers, clinicians, patients and members of the general public are invited to take part in Brain Health Awareness Week from October 5-19, hosted by the University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, in collaboration with The Ottawa Hosp
	The Ottawa Hospital opens one-of-a-kind neuromuscular research centre May 1, 2018 - You can help!The Ottawa Hospital needs crucial equipment for neuromuscular research, including:An ultracentrifuge that separates cells into different components by spinning themat very high speed.This crucial piece of equipment can exert a force that
	Discovery provides “profound new insight” into Duchenne muscular dystrophy April 19, 2018 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa have discovered a completely new function for the protein complex containing the dystrophin protein, which is missing in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dr. Michael Rudnicki and
	Can tiny bits of cells in the blood help track the progress of spinal muscular atrophy? April 11, 2018 - Dr. Robin Parks was awarded $150,000 from CureSMA to see if tiny bits of cells called exosomes can be used to track how spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) progresses and responds to treatment. SMA is the number one genetic cause of death in infants. Deb
	The Ottawa Hospital awarded $12.7M for research, double the national CIHR success rate January 30, 2018 - Sixteen research groups at The Ottawa Hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, have been awarded $12.7 million in the most recent project grant competition from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This represents a success r
	Researchers to test patient-centered approach to Parkinson’s care December 15, 2017 - Dr. Tiago Mestre has received a $197,000 New Investigator Award from the Physicians’ Services Incorporated Foundation to test a new model of care for people living with Parkinson’s disease. This project, called the Integrated Parkinson’s Care Network

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Dilworth, Jeffrey PhD	Senior Scientist Affiliate (RM)	Aging, Muscular dystrophy, Neuromuscular disease	Basic research, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genomics, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells
Kothary, Rashmi Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (RM)	Neuromuscular disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Spinal muscular atrophy	Basic research, Disease models, Drug development, Epigenetics, Epigenetics, Gene therapy, Genetics, Imaging, Lipidomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Transgenic/knockout models, Translational research
Parks, Robin Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (RM)	Brain and neuromuscular disease, Cancer, Muscular dystrophy, Neuromuscular disease	Gene therapy, Molecular and cellular biology, Viral therapy
Perkins, Theodore PhD	Senior Scientist (RM)	Brain and neuromuscular disease, Cancer, Muscular dystrophy, Musculoskeletal conditions, Neuromuscular disease	Artificial intelligence and data science, Basic research, Big data, Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Biostatistics, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Systems biology, Translational research
Rudnicki, Michael OC, PhD, FRS, FRSC	Program Director and Senior Scientist (RM)	Muscular dystrophy, Neuromuscular disease	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Disease models, Epigenetics, Genetics, Genomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Warman Chardon, Jodi MD, PhD FRCPC (Neurology)	Associate Scientist (NS)	Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Genetic myopathy, Muscular dystrophy, Neuromuscular disease, Spinal muscular atrophy, Stiff person syndrome	Artificial intelligence and data science, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Exome sequencing analysis, Genetics, Imaging, MRI muscle imaging, Next generation sequencing, RNA sequencing, Genetics

Related Resources

Neuromuscular disease research at The Ottawa Hospital: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Ataxia, Dystonia, Genetic myopathy, Huntington's, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Spinal muscular atrophy, Stiff person syndrome

The Ottawa Hospital Neuromuscular Centre

The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre Neuromuscular Care Stream

University of Ottawa Centre for Neuromuscular Disease

Search for clinical trials at The Ottawa Hospital related to this disease or condition.