# Minnesota Muscle Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $691,170

## Abstract

A group of investigators seeks to renew support for the Minnesota Muscle Training Program (MMTP), the NIH
T32 interdisciplinary training program in muscle research at the University of Minnesota, for both predoctoral
and postdoctoral scientists. This program began in 2001 with a primary focus on basic muscle research. Since
that time, UMN has placed a high priority on the expansion of muscle research at all levels, particularly
translational research, aimed at the development of new therapeutic approaches. The institution has recruited
internationally prominent researchers in muscle disease and therapy and has established new facilities that
support this research. In the previous funding period, further developments have led us to improve the quality of
an already outstanding training program (which received a perfect score of 10 in 2011 and 2016), as measured
by the funding and training records of the faculty; and by the number of qualified trainees, their publication record
during training, and their research career success after training. Program faculty are drawn from several
departments, but their graduate students are enrolled in the interdepartmental graduate programs in
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics (BMBB) or Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and
Genetics (MCDBG), which share a common admissions program (Molecular Cellular and Structural Biology,
MCSB) and first-year curriculum. The intellectual center of the training program is an intensive one-semester
course entitled “Muscle,” directed by the MMTP Director and taught by the MMTP faculty, which emphasizes
both basic and translational research. This course has been expanded to accommodate an increasing
emphasis on muscle disease and therapy. This is augmented by a weekly Muscle Journal Club, a biweekly
internal seminar program, a monthly external seminar including international leaders in muscle research, and an
annual MMTP Symposium in which all members of the training faculty’s research groups actively present and
discuss their research, featuring a keynote speaker who is an internationally prominent muscle researcher. A
significant strength of MMTP is its leadership. The Director (Thomas), who founded the program in 2001, is a
world leader in the molecular biophysics of muscle, has had NIH funding on muscle since 1980 (including two
MERIT Awards), and has mentored more than 100 predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, most of whom have
gone on to productive independent careers in muscle research. This program will now be strengthened by MPI
structure, with Thomas joined by Ervasti and Lowe. Ervasti is a world leader in the biochemistry of muscle
disease, and is Research Director for the Muscular Dystrophy Center, which is closely associated with MMTP.
Lowe is a world expert on muscle physiology in areas of aging, disease, and gender differences. The University
provides strong institutional support for MMTP, including a generous offer of matching funds. The pri...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10863932
- **Project number:** 5T32AR007612-23
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES M ERVASTI
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $691,170
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-05-01 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10863932

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10863932, Minnesota Muscle Training Program (5T32AR007612-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10863932. Licensed CC0.

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