Dr. Peter Jones will move his research group from the University of Illinois to the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, where he will join the Faculty as Principal Scientist.  Dr. Jones' research focuses on epigenetic and gene regulatory mechanisms that control cell function in development and in human diseases including muscular dystrophies and Rett Syndrome.  Prior to the University of Illinois, he was a fellow at the National Institutes of Health with Dr. Alan Wolffe, a pioneer in epigenetic gene regulation.  Dr. Jones' lab utilizes a combination of biochemistry, molecular,  and cellular approaches to investigate developmental and disease mechanisms in animal models.  His current research focuses on a muscle actin binding protein, FRG1, which was originally identified as a biomarker of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). His work has led to the exciting discovery that FRG1 has a dual function as a nuclear protein and a unique actin binding protein functioning in muscle structure and integrity, processes with key roles in the pathology of many myopathies, including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which involves disruptions in the interactions of mutant dystrophin protein with the actin cystoskeletal complex, leading to muscle membrane damage.  

In joining BBRI, Dr. Jones' lab will become a key addition to the Regenerative Biology Program, which has five other laboratories engaged in muscle disease research. He will also become a member of the NIH-funded BBRI Wellstone Cooperative Muscular Dystrophy Research Center which will enable his research program to expand into studies of human disease.

Click here to visit Dr. Jones' scientific page.