Nick Menhart
Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common form of muscular dystrophy, striking one in 3,500 boys. This genetic disease stems from a defect in the dystrophin gene, the largest in the human body. Dystrophin research is the focus of Associate Professor Nick Menhart, who was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health R01 grant to study dystrophin's structure and function.
An integral part of the molecular biochemistry and biophysics program at IIT, Menhart is engaging his students in his investigation. "If we can learn more about the structural consequences, I would be hopeful for a treatment within a decade, maybe sooner," Menhart says.