Dr. David Goldhamer at the University of Connecticut has worked in FOP research for decades, studying the biological processes that control muscle development and regeneration, and how muscle cells and tissues get reprogrammed to form bone in FOP. To do this, he uses specialized mouse models (created by his lab) that develop FOP. Using these FOP mice, he can study the cells and biological signals responsible for the abnormal bone growth in FOP.
With his ACT for FOP grant from the IFOPA, Dr. Goldhamer explores the effect of FOP on muscle repair and regeneration in response to injury. In FOP, the normal muscle-healing process can be hijacked and redirected toward making new bone instead. Dr. Goldhamer aims to determine whether the stem cells responsible for muscle regeneration are malfunctioning or receiving the wrong signals from nearby cells at the site of the flare-up that could be driving them to form bone.
Understanding this will help us better understand how heterotopic ossification (HO) starts and may eventually guide new treatments.Fireside Chats are informal, conversational sessions designed to give the FOP community direct access to the researchers working on your behalf. They're a great opportunity to hear the science in plain language and engage directly with the people behind it.
Register here, and you'll have the opportunity to submit questions in advance so Dr. Goldhamer can address what matters most to you.
