Skip over navigation
The Hospital
Research
Support Us
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Home
Français
Directions & Maps
Contact Us
About Us
Vision and Strategic Directions
Board Chair and CEO Message
Leadership Team
Annual Reports
Facilities
Research Data Management
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Wellness
Our Research
Priorities, Programs and Diseases
Researcher Profiles
National Research Networks
Scientific Publications
Research Awards
Technology Transfer
Industry Sponsored Research
Responsible Innovation
For Students & Fellows
News & Events
Newsroom
Seminars & Events
Career Opportunities
For Patients
News & Events
Home
>
News & Events
>
Newsroom
Bookmark or Share
Display Options
Display Options
+
Increase
/
-
Decrease
font size
High contrast version
Printer-friendly version
Newsroom
Seminars & Events
Newsroom
$1.7M to study rare but devastating muscular dystrophies
December 18, 2013
Two multinational teams, one including
Dr. Michael Rudnicki
and a second with
Dr. Jeffrey Dilworth
, were awarded two of 12 highly competitive international
E-Rare
grants for the study of rare diseases.
Dr. Rudnicki
is leading a team awarded $862,000 for preclinical studies to investigate the effectiveness of delivering a protein called Wnt7a systemically for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dr. Rudnicki’s lab has previously shown that directly injecting this protein into muscle tissue can bolster muscle strength and regeneration.
Dr. Dilworth’s team
will tackle Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), the most prevalent hereditary muscular dystrophy affecting adults and children. They received $878,000 to explore how a genetic factor called DBE-T activates genes associated with the disease and could possibly be used as a target for developing new therapies.
Muscular Dystrophy Canada
and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research are each contributing more than $380,000 toward the two Canadian teams.
About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the university’s Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. OHRI includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. www.ohri.ca
Media contact
Jennifer Ganton
Director, Communications and Public Relations
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-798-5555 x 73325
613-614-5253 (cell)
jganton@ohri.ca