Kimi Kong, Ph.D.

The primary interest of Dr. Kong's research at the Day Neuromuscular Research Laboratory is to investigate stem cell therapy in muscular dystrophy. The intention is to engraft stem cells into mice that lack dysferlin and therefore can be used as a natural model for limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B and Miyoshi myopathy. To determine what kind of stem cells will have the greatest impact on rescuing the defected muscle phenotype, Dr. Kong plans to test several kinds of stem cells that are originated from different sources (e.g. human vs. mouse, whole population vs. sub-population, side-population stem cells etc.). The study endpoints of her research are to examine the expression and expression levels of wildtype dysferlin, the degenerative and regenerative changes of muscle fibers and the occurrence of fibrosis in the recipient animals.