What if ultrasound — the same technology used in routine medical imaging — could one day help detect and even interrupt the abnormal bone growth that defines FOP? That's the question at the heart of Dr. Juli Simon's newly funded research, and we want you to hear about it straight from her.

Join us at Noon ET/18:00 CET for a Research Fireside Chat with Dr. Simon, a biomedical engineer at Penn State whose lab specializes in developing new ultrasound tools for diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Simon was recently awarded an IFOPA Accelerating Cures & Treatments (ACT) for FOP grant, and this informal conversation — moderated by IFOPA Research Director Mark Hamilton, PhD — is your chance to learn more about her work and ask your own questions.

Her research explores whether standard ultrasound imaging can detect early bone formation in FOP, and whether a specialized technique called focused ultrasound might be able to interrupt that process before it progresses. Her lab has already seen promising results in other models of abnormal bone growth, and this grant will help determine whether those findings can translate to a genetic model of FOP — an important step toward eventual human studies.

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 when you do, you'll have the opportunity to submit questions in advance so Dr. Simon can address what matters most to you.