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
Workshops on aspects of care for people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
Live online workshops for Healthcare Professionals on aspects of care for people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
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
Development of respiratory care guidelines for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the UK: key recommendations for clinical practice
Anne-Marie Childs, Catherine Turner, Ronan Astin, Stephen Bianchi, John Bourke, Vicki Cunningham, Lisa Edel, Christopher Edwards, Phillippa Farrant, Jane Heraghty, Meredith James, Charlotte Massey, Ben Messer, Jassi Michel Sodhi, Patrick Brian Murphy, Marianela Schiava, Ajit Thomas, Federica Trucco, Michela Guglieri
Safety and efficacy of avalglucosidase alfa versus alglucosidase alfa in patients with late-onset Pompe disease (COMET): a phase 3, randomised, multicentre trial
The Lancet. Neurology 2021 Dec;20(12):1012-1026. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00241-6.
Jordi Diaz-Manera, Priya S Kishnani, Hani Kushlaf, Shafeeq Ladha, Tahseen Mozaffar, Volker Straub, Antonio Toscano, Ans T van der Ploeg, Kenneth I Berger, Paula R Clemens, Yin-Hsiu Chien, John W Day, Sergey Illarioshkin, Mark Roberts, Shahram Attarian, Joao Lindolfo Borges, Francoise Bouhour, Young Chul Choi, Sevim Erdem-Ozdamar, Ozlem Goker-Alpan, Anna Kostera-Pruszczyk, Kristina An Haack, Christopher Hug, Olivier Huynh-Ba, Judith Johnson, Nathan Thibault, Tianyue Zhou, Mazen M Dimachkie, Benedikt Schoser; COMET Investigator Group
Sequential targeted exome sequencing of 1001 patients affected by unexplained limb-girdle weakness
Genetics in Medicine 2020 Sep;22(9):1478-1488. doi: 10.1038/s41436-020-0840-3. Epub 2020 Jun 11.
Ana Töpf, Katherine Johnson, Adam Bates, Lauren Phillips, Katherine R Chao, Eleina M England, Kristen M Laricchia, Thomas Mullen, Elise Valkanas, Liwen Xu, Marta Bertoli, Alison Blain, Ana B Casasús, Jennifer Duff, Magdalena Mroczek, Sabine Specht, Monkol Lek, Monica Ensini, Daniel G MacArthur; MYO-SEQ consortium;Volker Straub
Digenic inheritance involving a muscle-specific protein kinase and the giant titin protein causes a skeletal muscle myopathy
Nature Genetics 2024 Mar;56(3):395-407. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01651-0. Epub 2024 Mar 1.
Ana Töpf, Dan Cox, Irina T Zaharieva, Valeria Di Leo, Jaakko Sarparanta, Per Harald Jonson, Ian M Sealy, Andrei Smolnikov, Richard J White, Anna Vihola, Marco Savarese, Munise Merteroglu, Neha Wali, Kristen M Laricchia, Cristina Venturini, Bas Vroling, Sarah L Stenton, Beryl B Cummings, Elizabeth Harris, Chiara Marini-Bettolo, Jordi Diaz-Manera, Matt Henderson, Rita Barresi, Jennifer Duff, Eleina M England, Jane Patrick, Sundos Al-Husayni, Valerie Biancalana, Alan H Beggs, Istvan Bodi, Shobhana Bommireddipalli, Carsten G Bönnemann, Anita Cairns, Mei-Ting Chiew, Kristl G Claeys, Sandra T Cooper, Mark R Davis, Sandra Donkervoort, Corrie E Erasmus, Mahmoud R Fassad, Casie A Genetti, Carla Grosmann, Heinz Jungbluth, Erik-Jan Kamsteeg, Xavière Lornage, Wolfgang N Löscher, Edoardo Malfatti, Adnan Manzur, Pilar Martí, Tiziana E Mongini, Nuria Muelas, Atsuko Nishikawa, Anne O'Donnell-Luria, Narumi Ogonuki, Gina L O'Grady, Emily O'Heir, Stéphanie Paquay, Rahul Phadke, Beth A Pletcher, Norma B Romero, Meyke Schouten, Snehal Shah, Izelle Smuts, Yves Sznajer, Giorgio Tasca, Robert W Taylor, Allysa Tuite, Peter Van den Bergh, Grace VanNoy, Nicol C Voermans, Julia V Wanschitz, Elizabeth Wraige, Kimihiko Yoshimura, Emily C Oates, Osamu Nakagawa, Ichizo Nishino, Jocelyn Laporte, Juan J Vilchez, Daniel G MacArthur, Anna Sarkozy, Heather J Cordell, Bjarne Udd, Elisabeth M Busch-Nentwich, Francesco Muntoni, Volker Straub
Description of clinical and genetic features of 122 patients included in the Spanish Pompe registry
Rafael Jenaro Martinez-Marin, David Reyes-Leiva, Andrés Nascimento, Nuria Muelas, C Dominguez-González, Carmen Paradas, Montse Olivé, Mar García-Romero, Samuel Ignacio Pascual-Pascual, Josep Maria Grau, Miguel Angel Barba-Romero, Maria Teresa Gomez-Caravaca, Javier de Las Heras, Pilar Casquero, Maria Dolores Mendoza, Juan Carlos de León, Antonio Gutierrez, Germán Morís, Raquel Blanco-Lago, Alba Ramos-Fransi, Guillem Pintós, Maria José García-Antelo, Maria Rabasa, Yolanda Morgado, Mercedes Usón, Francisco Javier Miralles, Jose Eulalio Bárcena-Llona, Ana Belén Gómez-Belda, Maria Isabel Pedraza-Hueso, Miryam Hortelano, Antoni Colomé, Guillermina Garcia-Martin, Adolfo Lopez de Munain, Ivonne Jericó, Lucía Galán-Dávila, Julio Pardo, Giorgina Salgueiro-Origlia, Jorge Alonso-Pérez, Francesc Pla-Junca, Marianela Schiava, Sonia Segovia-Simón, Jordi Díaz-Manera
Molecular treatments in Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Current opinion in pharmacology 2010 Jun;10(3):331-7. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2010.03.005.
Michela Guglieri, Kate Bushby
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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