Research Labs

About Our Research Labs

Asakura Lab

The Asakura Lab's goals include attempting to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling muscle satellite cell (muscle stem cell) self-renewal and differentiation and to develop novel therapeutic methods for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This also involves the stem cell niche associated with vasculature in normal and regenerating skeletal muscle by muscle stem cells. We have recently begun exploration of stem cell-based therapy with induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells toward muscular dystrophy model animals and heart infarction models.
Visit the Asakura Lab website to discover more.

Cha Lab

Henry Lab

The Henrys lab research focuses on human seizures, epilepsies, and disorders of consciousness, with emphases on pathophysiology (particularly using brain imaging techniques), diagnosis (particularly using brain imaging and clinical electrophysiological techniques), and therapy (particularly with antiepileptic drugs, epilepsy surgery, and chronic neural electrical stimulation).
Visit the Henry Lab website to discover more.

Kennedy Lab

The focus of Kennedy Lab is developing new methods to objectively diagnose, quantify, and grade neuropathy of the peripheral and autonomic nervous systems. The clinical and research activity focuses on immunostaining and confocal microscopic imaging of cutaneous nerves, principally epidermal nerve fibers (ENFs) and sudomotor nerves in skin biopsies using fluorescent labeled antibodies to Protein Gene Product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) / Ubiquitin Carboxy Hydrolase like-1 (UCHL-1), type IV collagen, Ulex and several neuropeptides.
Visit the Kennedy Lab website to discover more.

Ashe Lab

The Ashe Lab’s mission is to conduct cutting-edge translational Alzheimer's disease research. This involves determining the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, discovering molecular markers that allow for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, developing safe and affordable therapies that slow or prevent the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and delivering and promoting best care-practices for brain health and disease management.

Visit the Ashe Lab website to discover more.

Cooper Lab

The motor neurophysiology lab studies the extrapyramidal motor system in human subjects with an emphasis on disease states and neurosurgical therapies. The lab's current focus is on the basal ganglia (BG) and on Parkinson's disease (PD) with most of the work centered on deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Visit the Cooper Lab website to discover more.

Kang Lab

The Kang Lab studies the genetic basis of muscular dystrophy, along with muscle disease mechanisms related to the Notch signaling pathway, for over a decade. The Kang Lab also pursues other neurogenetics projects, including those involving DNA repair disorders.
Visit the Kang Lab website to discover more.

MacKinnon Lab

The mission of the Movement Disorders Laboratory is to gain a greater understanding of the mechanisms causing movement problems in people with neurological disorders and to translate this knowledge to the development of novel therapies and interventions to improve movement function, mobility, and quality of life.
Visit the MacKinnon Lab website to discover more.

Neuromuscular Pathology Lab