Dr. Christopher Perry York University, Canada

Dr. Christopher Perry is an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science and Associate Director of the Muscle Health Research Centre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His laboratory aims to understand how mitochondrial stress contributes to muscle weakness in a variety of disorders with a... read morecurrent focus on cancer cachexia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Ongoing work examines how certain muscles demonstrate dynamic resliency during cancer in an attempt to slow the progression of muscle weakness. Our team has also explored several pharmacological compounds that partially restore muscle health in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancer cachexia by preserving mitochondrial metabolism. The lab also investigates how exercise improves muscle metabolism in humans and uses this information as the ‘mechanistic template’ for restoring healthy muscle function in diseases. Through collaborations, our team supports assessments of mitochondrial stress responses and muscle dysfunction in people with type 1 diabetes.

By working with clinical, industry, and not-for-profit advocacy partners, the ultimate goal of the lab is to identify metabolic and redox stress-based mechanisms of muscle weakness and apply these findings towards the development of therapeutics that may help people improve muscle health, functional independence and quality of life.