John Porter

Chief Science Officer, Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation

United States of America

John Porter, Ph.D. is Chief Science officer for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, a non-profit focused on improving patient care and developing novel therapies for myotonic dystrophy.  He has a strong interest in ensuring the scientific rigor of preclinical study design, conduct, and the validity of data used to provide rationale for clinical trials, across all neuromuscular disorders, and played a key role in efforts to include such considerations in Federal and non-Federal grant review processes.  Over a 21-year academic research career, John worked on extraocular muscle biology in health and disease.  In 10 years at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, he managed research grant funding that included diseases affecting the motoneuron, neuromuscular junction, nerve, and skeletal muscle.  During this time he helped facilitate team science and therapy development partnerships for disorders of the motoneuron, nerve, neuromuscular junction, and skeletal muscle. He also was Executive Secretary for the interagency Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee.