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.
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
The development of pGALSplus: evaluating feasibility and acceptability of an assessment to facilitate the identification and triage of children with musculoskeletal presentations
Rheumatology Advances in Practice, 2024 Aug, 1;8(3):rkae089
Vicky Mercer, Nicola Smith, Michela Guglieri, Simon A Jones, Jeremy R Parr, Helen E Foster, Sharmila Jandial
MRI for the diagnosis of limb girdle muscular dystrophies
Current Opinion in Neurology, 2024 Aug 13, doi: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001305
Clinical, Histopathologic, and Genetic Features of Patients With Myofibrillary and Distal Myopathies: Experience From the Italian Network
Neurology, 2024 Aug 27;103(4):e209697
Sara Bortolani, Marco Savarese, Gaetano Vattemi, Silvia Bonanno, Yuri M Falzone, Alessia Pugliese, Guido Primiano, Cristina Sancricca, Diego Lopergolo, Giulia Greco, Chiara Gemelli, Sabrina Ravaglia, Roberta P Bencivenga, Daniele Velardo, Francesca Magri, Maria L Valentino, Marta Cheli, Eleonora Torchia, Matteo Lucchini, Antonio Petrucci, Giulia Ricci, Matteo Garibaldi, Guja Astrea, Anna Rubegni, Corrado I Angelini, Alessandra Ariatti, Filippo M Santorelli, Alessandra Ruggieri, Giovanni Antonini, Gabriele Siciliano, Massimiliano Filosto, Massimiliano Mirabella, Rocco Liguori, Giacomo P Comi, Lucia Ruggiero, Marina Grandis, Roberto Massa, Alessandro Malandrini, Serenella Servidei, Tiziana E Mongini, Carmelo Rodolico, Antonio Toscano, Stefano C Previtali, Paola Tonin, Jordi Diaz-Manera, Mauro Monforte, Enzo Ricci, Lorenzo Maggi, Giorgio Tasca
Adrenal suppression from vamorolone and prednisone in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: results from the phase 2b clinical trial
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2024 Aug 4:dgae521
Alexandra Ahmet, Rebecca Tobin, Utkarsh J Dang, Raoul Rooman, Michela Guglieri, Paula R Clemens, Eric P Hoffman, Leanne M Ward
Clinician Perspectives of Gene Therapy as a Treatment Option for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases, 2024 Jul 29. doi: 10.3233/JND-240033
Heidi Cope, Ryan Fischer, Emma Heslop, Megan McNiff, Alexandra Johnson, Eric Camino, Brian Denger, Niki Armstrong, Sejal Thakrar, Alison Bateman-House, Katherine L Beaverson, Ione O C Woollacott, Dawn Phillips, Vivian Fernandez, Annie Ganot, Roxana Donisa-Dreghici, Carol Mansfield, Holly Peay
Dominant stop-loss HNRNPA1 variants in juvenile-onset myopathy
Johnnie Turner, Christine C Bruels, Audrey L Daugherty, Elicia A Estrella, Seth Stafki, Safoora B Syeda, Hannah R Littel, Lynn Pais, Vijay S Ganesh, Hart G W Lidov, Simon M L Paine, Paul Maddison, Rachel E Harrison, Volker Straub, Partha S Ghosh, Christina A Pacak, Louis M Kunkel, Isabelle Draper, Ana Topf, Peter B Kang
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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