Dr. Michio Hirano, Chief of the Neuromuscular Division at Columbia University Medical Center, and Kris Engelstad MS CGC, a board-certified genetic counselor and program coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center, discuss Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy.
Learn more about MRT, also known in the media as three-person babies.
Topics of discussion include:
About The Speakers
Dr. Michio Hirano is a Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. For over 20 years, Dr. Hirano’s translational research focused on mitochondrial disease and inherited myopathies. His laboratory has identified novel causative genes for mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE), X-linked scapuloperoneal myopathy, primary coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiencies and has studied cell and mouse models of these and other diseases including thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) deficiency. He has also been investigating allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplantation for MNGIE, pharmacological therapies for TK2 deficiency and, with Kris Engelstad and Dr. Dieter Egli, mitochondrial replacement therapy. Since 2009, Dr. Hirano has directed the NIH U54-funded North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC).
Kris Engelstad MS CGC, is a board-certified genetic counselor and a program coordinator at Columbia University Medical Center. For the past 15 years she has focused on clinical research in mitochondrial disorders, including: several clinical trials, natural history studies, NAMDC patient registry and biobank, and the Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy Survey. She provides genetic counseling services for various clinical trials, a pediatric neuromuscular clinic and for adult and pediatric patients with mitochondrial disorders.
For accompanying slides, click here.
What is the impact of illness or infection on a patient with mitochondrial disease? Patients, parents, and healthcare providers with firsthand experience of mitochondrial...
Join MitoAction and Dr. Richard Frye to discuss the distinction between primary and secondary mitochondrial diagnosis. Some talking points will include: Primary mitochondrial disease...
Immune dysfunction is increasingly appreciated in mitochondrial disorders. Join Dr. Melissa Walker to review the small number of known immune manifestations of specific primary...