posted October 28, 2025
Several MSI PIs are on a team that recently published a novel treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a uncurable genetic illness that can lead to severe disability and early death. The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS), describes a new type of therapy that uses a synthetic molecule called a “bottlebrush polymer,” which protects muscle-cell membranes. DMD causes fragile muscle membranes that break down under stress.
The MSI PIs who are co-authors on the paper include:
- Associate Professor DeWayne Townsend (Integrative Biology and Physiology)
- Professor Townsend uses software available through MSI to analyze imaging data in studies of animal models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- Associate Professor Ben Hackel (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science)
- Professor Hackel uses custom codes and software available through MSI to help engineer high affinity binding proteins, enzymes, and antimicrobial proteins using laboratory directed evolution.
- Associate Professor Yuk Sham (Integrative Biology and Physiology; Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Graduate Program)
- Professor Sham uses MSI resources to develop computational approaches of molecular recognition processes.
- Professor Joseph Metzger (Department Head and Chair, Integrative Biology and Physiology)
- Professor Metzger uses software available through MSI for analysis of DNA sequences and post-processing of other data and for processing and storing RNA-seq data
An article about this research appears on the College of Science and Engineering website: University of Minnesota research team discovers new therapy potential for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The paper can be found on the PNAS website: Synthetic bottlebrush block copolymer prevents disease onset in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.