Related Features

The Cell and Tissue Core (Core C) of the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center works with collaborating physicians to collect and curate muscle biopsies from FSHD patients and healthy volunteers. The Core is also an international resource to maintain and distribute FSHD and normal myogenic cell lines developed in the Center. An Administrative Core (Core A) led by Dr. Emerson organizes regular meetings among the project scientists and works with Mr. Perez (The FSH Society) for community outreach and to organize an annual open scientific meeting on FSHD. Core A coordinates this activity with the Education and Training Core (Core B), led by Dr. Bloch, which supports two trainees per year and organizes an annual Center retreat. The Center's research, core, and training activities are thus aimed at identifying and testing FSHD biomarkers for development of new therapies, providing novel reagents for FSHD researchers worldwide, assessing myostatin inhibitors as a potential FSHD therapeutic, and structuring an outstanding environment for training young scientists.