Donghoon Lee, a research associate professor in the department of radiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, was awarded an MDA research grant totaling $300,000 over three years to develop imaging biomarkers for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Lee will develop noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) methodologies that reflect specific underlying tissue and cellular events associated with degeneration and regeneration in muscular dystrophy. Since the equipment used for MRI and MRS is widely available and used in clinical practice, advances in the application of these techniques could quickly lead to improvements in outcome measures for clinical trials in DMD.

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