Muscle Biologist Elected
To National Academy of Sciences

TUCSON, Ariz., June 2, 2004 – Kevin P. Campbell, a longtime Muscular Dystrophy Association research grantee at the University of Iowa in Iowa City was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Campbell was selected for the honor in recognition of his established and continuing original research in muscle biology.

Election to the NAS is one of the nation’s highest honors for scientists. Founded in 1863, the academy is a private organization of scientists and engineers that acts as an official adviser to the federal government on matters of science or technology. Membership is comprised of some 2,000 U.S. and 300 foreign associates, of whom more than 180 have won Nobel Prizes.

Campbell’s work as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has led to the identification of the molecular and genetic bases of several forms of muscular dystrophy and provided a clearer understanding of the muscular dystrophy disease processes. His findings have greatly improved the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, and they point to strategies for developing therapies for these devastating neuromuscular diseases.

Campbell holds the Roy J. Carver Chair of physiology and biophysics and is interim head of the department and a professor of neurology at the University of Iowa.

"As one of MDA’s most distinguished and well-respected research grantees, Kevin Campbell has had a significant impact on people with neuromuscular diseases,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “I’m pleased to know that his dedicated work is being honored at the highest level.”

Campbell is a member of MDA's Scientific Advisory Committee.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education.

The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.