For over 30 years, the research of M Grounds has focussed on factors controlling the repair of damaged skeletal muscle and on potential treatments for muscle diseases such as Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy and muscle wasting, with a focus on in vivo studies and tissue analyses. Her research has pioneered many studies into factors controlling skeletal muscle regeneration with a particular emphasis on myogenesis in post-natal skeletal muscle in vivo, and an ongoing interest in the role of the extracellular matrix. Research on cell therapies developed the Y-chromosome probe for tracking male nuclei and identified the massive and rapid death of injected donor cells in Myoblast Transfer Therapy. Other projects investigate stem cell therapies (MG published the first bone-marrow reconstitution experiments to look for bone-marrow derived muscle stem cells in 1983) and Tissue Engineering for skeletal and cardiac muscle. Current research includes the in vivo role of IGF-1 isoforms, a focus on inflammation and anti-cytokine therapies, metabolism, and oxidative stress, all with applications to skeletal muscle wasting with ageing, muscular dystrophy and especially age-related loss of muscle mass and function (Sarcopenia).

Prof Miranda Grounds (MG) with a BSc(Hons) from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and PhD from the University of London (1978), obtained her first NH&MRC grant in 1980 and in 1994 became an NH&MRC Senior Research Fellow and Professor in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology, UWA. For over 30 years, the research of MG has focussed on factors controlling damage and repair of skeletal muscle and on potential treatments for muscle diseases, with a strong focus on in vivo studies and tissue analyses. Some ‘firsts’ include the first bone- marrow reconstitution study to test for circulating myogenic stem cells (1983), use of autoradiography to test and challenge the tissue culture quantal mitosis theory in vivo (1987) and document kinetics of myogenesis in damaged adult muscle in vivo (1985-1992), development of the Y-chromosome probe to visualise and quantitate male mouse cells (1991-) and describe massive rapid loss of cultured donor myoblasts in vivo (1996). MG has over 150 publications, 20 since 2008, with strong citations: H-Factor = 37 (March 2011, Citation sum is 3995 and Av./item is 25.05). The research covers diverse areas including; Muscle regeneration, Stem cells; Myoblast Transfer Therapy and other therapies for Muscular Dystrophies; Muscle hypertrophy and atrophy; plus Ageing (6 related papers and reviews since 1998). Recent research has focussed on factors controlling the maintenance of muscle mass and function into old age.
Since 2000, MG has supervised 16 PhD students (9 are current) and over 20 Honours students (12 with 1st class). MG has organised numerous conferences, is a reviewer for many international funding agencies and journals, and serves on Editorial and various other Boards and committees including: Board of the International Society of Differentiation since 2006 and, since 2010, Member of the Fundamental Myology commission of the Association contre les Myopathies (AFM) Scientific Council, plus Member of the TREAT-NMD Advisory Committee for Therapeutics (TACT) (these involve fully paid trips each year). In 2005 MG received an Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision Award, UWA and was the recipient of the Barry Preston Award from the Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand; in 2012, MG will present the prestigious Mauro lecture at the 2012 international Satellite Cell meeting (the first female to receive this honour).
These research achievements are widely recognized internationally as evidenced by invited reviews/Chapters and also overseas grants, and MG has obtained about $10.5 million in funding. International recognition is also demonstrated by many invitations for MG to speak at national/international conferences/workshops (>100 since 1980),with 12 fully paid international invitations since 2010. Some recent relevant invitations are: 2005 ●FASEB Skeletal muscle satellite and stem cells. USA; ●Translational Medicine for skeletal muscle biology, Sweden; ●Novartis Muscle Workshop, Switzerland. 2007 ●Workshop (NIH): Pre-clinical testing for Duchenne dystrophy, USA. ●Keynote: Medical Sciences Congress, New Zealand, ●Stem Cell Therapy for Skeletal Muscle Myopathies, France. ●Plenary: 4th Cachexia Conference, Florida, USA 2008 ●Bispebjerg Symposium on Sports Medicine, Denmark 2009 ●Workshop: Programs specifying muscle identity, with a possible link to disease, France ●Workshop: Current bottlenecks in translational medicine in inherited neuromuscular diseases (Treat-NMD/NIH), Belgium. 2010 ●Gage Conference on Muscle, Canberra, Australia ●Muscle Satellite Symposium, Queenstown Molecular Biology, New Zealand. ●Jain Foundation, Seattle, USA. ●16th Intl Soc. Differentiation, Japan. 2011 ● Myology 2011 (AFM), Lille, France, ●Gordon Conference, New Horizons for Myogenesis, Therapies for Aging and Dystrophy, USA. (plus invited talk at EU MyoAGE meeting, Finland) 2012 ●MG will present the 7th Mauro lecture at the 2012 Satellite Cell meeting, Italy.

Medical Health and Research Infrastructure Fund.
The International Parent Project.
Association Francaise contre les Myopathies.
Muscular Dystrophy Association of America 2000.
Heart Foundation, Australia.
Meat & Livestock, Australia.
National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
AMRAD.
The Arnold Yeldham and Mary Raine Medical Research Foundation,UWA.
Medical Research Council of W.A.
Jain Foundation

1994-1998 Senior Research Fellow (NHMRC), UWA.
1980-1994 Senior Research Officer (NHMRC), UWA.
1978-1980 Research Officer, UWA.
1975-1978 Research Biochemist, Charing Cross Hospital, London.
1972-1974 Research Assistant, UWA.

Jain Foundation: Monitoring & Reducing Oxidative Stress Associated with Dystropathology in Dysferlin Deficient Mice. Funds Approved $57,752.82

Medical Health and Research Infrastructure Fund Round 14 (2010). Funds Approved $35,149.00

NHMRC 2009-2011: Role of IGF-1 in skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy. Funds Approved $379,500.00

Skeletal muscle repair; the role of growth factors and extracellular matrix components; Muscular Dystrophy; ageing; Cell and gene therapy for muscle diseases; inflammation and oxidative stress.