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
New Models Help Us Better Understand Disease Progression in Dysferlinopathy
A new study led by the JWMDRC provides insight into how muscle degeneration progresses over time in dysferlinopathy
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.
Efficacy of Switching Therapy From Alglucosidase Alfa to Avalglucosidase Alfa on Respiratory Function in Participants With Late-Onset Pompe Disease: A Post Hoc Analysis From the COMET Trial
JIMD Reports 2025 Aug 12;66(5):e70033. doi: 10.1002/jmd2.70033. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Priya S Kishnani, Matthias Boentert, Stephan Wenninger, Kenneth I Berger, Jérôme Msihid, Lasair O'Callaghan, Rachida Essadi-Addou, Victor Gallego, Neeraj Singh Rawat, Olivier Huynh-Ba, Jordi Diaz-Manera
Modeling of Dysferlinopathy (LGMDR2) Progression: A Longitudinal Fat Fraction Analysis
Carla Florencia Bolano-Diaz, Harmen Reyngoudt, Ian J Wilson, Meredith K James, Fiona Elizabeth Smith, Ericky Caldas de Almeida Araujo, Heather Gordish-Dressman, Heather Hilsden, Laura E Rufibach, Dorothy Wallace, Louise Ward, Roberto Stramare, Alessandro Rampado, Mark Smith, Jean-Marc Boisserie, Julien Le Louer, Sheryl Foster, Anthony Peduto, Noriko Sato, Takeshi Tamaru, Anne Marie Sawyer, John W Day, Kristi J Jones, Maggie Christine Walter, Tanya Stojkovic, Madoka Mori-Yoshimura, Jerry R Mendell, Elena Pegoraro, Volker Straub, Andrew M Blamire, Pierre Carlier, Jordi Diaz-Manera; Jain COS Consortium
Muscle Biopsy Findings in Valosin-Containing Protein Multisystem Proteinopathy
Marianela Schiava, Yolande Parkhurst, Matthew Henderson, Tuomo Polvikoski, Manouela V Valtcheva, Ichizo Nishino, Michio Inoue, Yukako Nishimori, Yoshihiko Saito, Tanya Stojkovic, Rocio N Villar-Quiles, Norma Beatriz Romero, Teresinha Evangelista, Edoardo Malfatti, Sarah Souvannanorath, Elena Pegoraro, Pietro Riguzzi, Mauro Monforte, Sara Bortolani, Eleonora Torchia, Mario Sabatelli, Giorgio Tasca, Volker Straub, Chiara Marini-Bettolo, Michela Guglieri, Hakan Cetin, Ellen Gelpi, Sigrid Klotz, Jan L De Bleecker, Alicia Alonso-Jimenez, Jonathan Baets, Willem De Ridder, Peter De Jonghe, Kristl G Claeys, Dietmar Rudolf Thal, Jorge A Bevilacqua, Sushan Luo, Wenhua Zhu, Jie Lin, George Papadimas, Constantinos Papadopoulos, Eleni Zamba-Papanicolaou, Sophia Xirou, Endre Pal, Carmelo Rodolico, Anna Kostera-Pruszczyk, Biruta Kierdaszuk, Anna Kaminska, Nuria Muelas, Juan Jesus Vilchez, Cristina Domínguez-González, Aurelio Hernandez-Lain, Jorge Alonso-Perez, Velina Nedkova-Hristova, Carlos Aledo, Anders Oldfors, Umesh A Badrising, Hani Kushlaf, Thomas E Lloyd, Chiseko Ikenaga, Lindsay N Alfano, Colin C Quinn, David Walk, Matthias Vorgerd, Conrad Weihl, Montse Olivé, Jordi Diaz-Manera
Development of a guideline for orthopaedic management in the care of children and young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the UK National Health Service
Journal of children's orthopaedics 2025 Jun 24;19(4):267-275. doi: 10.1177/18632521251348972.
Philip D Henman, Catherine Turner, James Aird, William Guy Atherton, Donald Campbell, Clare Carpenter, Maria Belen Carsi, Melville Dixon, Nikolaos Giannakakis, Thomas Girdler-Hardy, Alison Hulme, Meredith James, Shuko Joseph, Nigel T Kiely, Kirsty Ohly, Anna Porter, Darius Rad, Emily Reuben, Roger Walton, Sze Choong Wong, Michela Guglieri
Characterisation of a large, single-centre cohort of patients with Becker muscular dystrophy to inform standardised care guidelines
Journal of Neurology 2025 Jun 7;272(7):448. doi: 10.1007/s00415-025-13126-9.
Pietro Riguzzi, Holly Borland, Meredith K James, John Bourke, Chiara Marini Bettolo, Robert Muni Lofra, Jordi Diaz-Manera, Giorgio Tasca, Marianela Schiava, Maha ElSeed, Elizabeth Harris, Emma Grover, Chloe Geagan, Carla Bolano Diaz, Ariele Barreto Haagsma, Doaa Salman, Tara Reeves, Goknur S Kocak, Emma Robinson, Peter Waldock, Michelle McCallum, Jassi Michell-Sodhi, Dionne Moat, Karen Wong, Ana Topf, Elena Pegoraro, Luca Bello, Volker Straub, Michela Guglieri
The Potential to Leverage Real-World Data for Pediatric Clinical Trials: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Journal of Medical Internet Research 2025 May 30:27:e72573. doi: 10.2196/72573.
Jens Declerck, Joanne Lee, Anando Sen, Avril Palmeri, Rianne Oostenbrink, Viviana Giannuzzi, Simon Woodworth, Salma Malik, Fenna Mahler, Beate Aurich, Rebecca Leary, Dipak Kalra, Volker Straub
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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