Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, an associate professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $300,000 over three years to study how the Myosin Binding Protein-C family of proteins may regulate contractile function of skeletal muscle in distal muscular dystrophy (DD). Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos’ work will shed light on how mutations in this protein lead to disease and may have clinical relevance not only for distal arthrogryposis, but also for other muscular dystrophies as well.

Funding for this MDA research grant began Aug. 1, 2015.