Launched in November 2014, the Centre brings together and consolidates Newcastle's distinguished, international and world-leading record in research and care for neuromuscular diseases.
Our team, based at the Institute of Translational and Clinical Research, Newcastle University, and its associated hospitals, work together towards the development and application of genomic and translational medicine to improve the health outcomes of people living with neuromuscular diseases.
As a group we have developed a close and important link between research and clinical activities, and we actively pursue new partnerships with other stakeholders such as patient organisations, regulators and pharma.
The John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC) is structured around four important Strands of activity; Clinical Care & Diagnostics, Clinical Research, Laboratory Research and Networking & Collaborations. All are strongly interlinked and the work across these teams is key to our success and impact in the neuromuscular field.
We are immensely proud to have continued to build, shape and develop this Centre's team of international experts and to be leading them now under the auspicious name of Lord John Walton, who first established a dedicated and integrated neuromuscular clinical and research unit at Newcastle Upon Tyne in the 1950s.
Latest News
10-year anniversary event success!
We had great success celebrating our 10-year anniversary event, ‘Neuromuscular Diseases: the next 10 years’ at The Baltic Centre in Newcastle recently
Newcastle has a long history as a centre of international excellence in muscle disease diagnosis, care and research.
First established as the Muscular Dystrophy Laboratories at Newcastle General Hospital, the team here has grown over the years and now comprises a group of experts across many fields within muscular dystrophy who together form the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre.
Whilst we are structured around four core areas of clinical care & diagnostics, basic research, clinical research and networks & collaborations it is the significant and important level of collaboration and linkage between these areas that is responsible for the success of the team as a whole.
One of the great strengths of the Centre is its multidisciplinary and cooperative approach, both within the team at Newcastle and with other leading experts around the world.
Genetic neuromuscular disease includes some very rare conditions and it is through establishing these partnerships that the biggest strides towards improving diagnosis, care and treatment for patients can be made.
The John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre team are members of the MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, a joint enterprise between University College London and Newcastle promoting translational research in neuromuscular diseases. The MRC Centre is a major source of support for activity in Newcastle, including the MRC Centre Biobank and for activities in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It also funds several PhD and clinical students in various disease areas.
In addition to this the team has, in the past five years, trained more than 20 visitors from five continents. Thanks to extensive international networking, in recent years the Centre has also become recognised for its leadership in the rare disease field more broadly and has become part of major global rare disease initiatives including the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health and the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium.
Professor Volker Straub leads the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre and holds a joint appointment between Newcastle University and the NHS. With over 300 publications, Volker’s time is split between research and clinical commitments, all of which have a focus on neuromuscular disease whilst providing leadership across the five strands of the Centre.
Latest Publications
Evidentiary basis of the first regulatory qualification of a digital primary efficacy endpoint
Scientific Reports 2024 Nov 29;14(1):29681. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80177-9
Laurent Servais, Paul Strijbos, Margaux Poleur, Andrada Mirea, Nina Butoianu, Valeria A Sansone, Carole Vuillerot, Ulrike Schara-Schmidt, Mariacristina Scoto, Andreea M Seferian, Stefano C Previtali, Már Tulinius, Andrés Nascimento, Pat Furlong, Teji Singh, Roxana Donisa Dreghici, Nathalie Goemans, Eugenio Mercuri, Volker Straub, Maitea Guridi Ormazabal , Jessica Braid, Francesco Muntoni, Alexis Tricot, Mélanie Annoussamy, Damien Eggenspieler
Home infusion experience in patients with Pompe disease receiving avalglucosidase alfa during three clinical trials
Jordi Díaz-Manera, Derralynn Hughes, Sevim Erdem-Özdamar, Céline Tard, Anthony Béhin, Françoise Bouhour, James Davison, Si Houn Hahn, Kristina An Haack, Olivier Huynh-Ba, Magali Periquet, Swathi Tammireddy, Nathan Thibault, Tianyue Zhou, Ans T van der Ploeg
Interpersonal Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Depression in Parkinson's Disease: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Movement Disorders, 2024 Nov 20. doi: 10.1002/mds.30061. Online ahead of print.
Diana Koszycki, Monica Taljaard, Jacques Bradwejn, Caroline Lee, Giorgio A Tasca, David A Grimes
Switching treatment to cipaglucosidase alfa plus miglustat positively affects patient-reported outcome measures in patients with late-onset Pompe disease
Journal of patient-reported outcomes, 2024 Nov 13;8(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s41687-024-00805-w
Priya S Kishnani, Barry J Byrne, Kristl G Claeys, Jordi Díaz-Manera, Mazen M Dimachkie, Hani Kushlaf, Tahseen Mozaffar, Mark Roberts, Benedikt Schoser, Noemi Hummel, Agnieszka Kopiec, Fred Holdbrook, Simon Shohet, Antonio Toscano; PROPEL Study Group
Understanding North Star Ambulatory Assessment total scores and their implications for standards of care using observational data
European journal of paediatric neurology, 2024 Nov:53:123-130
Georgia Stimpson, Meredith K James, Michela Guglieri, Amy Wolfe, Adnan Manzur, Anna Sarkozy, Giovanni Baranello, Francesco Muntoni, Anna Mayhew; UK NorthStar Clinical Network
Integrating D4Z4 methylation analysis into clinical practice: improvement of FSHD molecular diagnosis through distinct thresholds for 4qA/4qA and 4qA/4qB patients
Clinical epigenetics, 2024 Oct 22;16(1):148. doi: 10.1186/s13148-024-01747-2
Claudia Strafella, Domenica Megalizzi, Giulia Trastulli, Emma Proietti Piorgo, Luca Colantoni, Giorgio Tasca, Mauro Monforte, Stefania Zampatti, Guido Primiano, Cristina Sancricca, Sara Bortolani, Eleonora Torchia, Beatrice Ravera, Francesca Torri, Giulio Gadaleta, Barbara Risi, Filomena Caria, Francesca Gerardi, Elena Carraro, Valeria Gioiosa, Matteo Garibaldi, Laura Tufano, Erica Frezza, Roberto Massa, Carlo Caltagirone, Elena Maria Pennisi, Antonio Petrucci, Marika Pane, Annalia Frongia, Francesca Gragnani, Marianna Scutifero, Paola Mandich, Marina Grandis, Maria Antonietta Maioli, Carlo Casali, Elisabetta Manfroi, Luisa Politano, Luigia Passamano, Roberta Petillo, Carmelo Rodolico, Alessia Pugliese, Stefano Carlo Previtali, Valeria Sansone, Liliana Vercelli, Tiziana Enrica Mongini, Giulia Ricci, Gabriele Siciliano, Massimiliano Filosto, Enzo Ricci, Raffaella Cascella, Emiliano Giardina; FSHD Italian Clinical Group
John Walton
Lord Walton’s contribution to the field of muscle disease research and patient care is enormous. He was a leading figure in the field for over 50 years and trained many of the current leaders in the neuromuscular field.
Born locally in Rowlands Gill, John Walton qualified from Newcastle Medical School in 1945, then part of the University of Durham. In 1959 he co-founded the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, now known as Muscular Dystrophy UK, of which he was Honorary Life President. He went on to become both a Consultant Neurologist and Professor of Neurology at Newcastle, and from 1971-1981 was Dean of Medicine at the University.
John Walton’s work in the 1950s was a milestone in the classification and description of muscular dystrophies as different entities. His landmark paper with Professor Nattrass in 1954 changed the research and diagnostic landscape for muscle disease.
It was John Walton’s pioneering work that saw his department at Newcastle first become recognised as a leader in neuromuscular disorders and established it as the internationally acclaimed centre for muscle disease research that it is today.
John Walton was awarded a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Walton of Detchant in 1989.
Sadly, Lord Walton passed away in April 2016.
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