Daniel Michele, associate professor in the department of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $364,965 over three years to study the underlying mechanisms of muscle weakness and muscle fatigue in Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

Tom Thompson, associate professor in the department of molecular genetics, biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $330,000 over three years. The funds will help support Thompson's study of potential therapies based on blocking a protein called myostatin for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

MDA awarded a research grant totaling $390,000 over three years to Rita Perlingeiro, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The funds will help support Perlingeiro's study of genetic correction and muscle regeneration in Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

MDA awarded a research grant totaling $237,868 over two years to Joseph Metzger, professor and chair of integrative biology and physiology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The funds will help support Metzger's work in development and testing of copolymer molecules, or "membrane sealants," for Duchenne (DMD), Becker (BMD) and other muscular dystrophies.

Veronica Hinton, associate professor of clinical neuropsychology at Columbia University in New York, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $397,596 over three years to study cognitive problems in children with dystrophinopathies, which include Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

Atsushi Asakura, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $378,531 over three years to study how the system of blood vessels known as the vasculature affects muscles in Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

Adam Engler, assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $390,000 over three years to study cell-based therapies designed for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies and other muscle diseases.

Dean Burkin, associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $308,028 over three years to study laminin-111 protein therapy for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.

Ryan Wuebbles, a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, was awarded an MDA development grant (DG) totaling $180,000 over three years to study the potential use of a protein called laminin-111 as the basis of therapies for Duchenne (DMD) and Becker (BMD) muscular dystrophies.