About the MDSRC

Researchers in the Jerry R. Mendell, MD Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital have received a coveted P50 grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center (MDSRC). Named in honor of the late Senator Paul D. Wellstone, a champion of muscular dystrophy research, the Wellstone MDSRC program was established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2003. One of only six Wellstone awards in the nation, the Nationwide Children’s award provides $6 million over four years to establish the center under the leadership of Kevin Flanigan, MD, director of the Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children’s, and co-director Paul Martin, PhD.

P50 Center grants from the NIH provide funding to support programs comprising integrated research teams to study a variety of subjects within a central scientific theme. They typically consist of specialized core functions and multiple integrated research projects. The NIH Wellstone program has established a special network of P50 Centers, funded by three different NIH institutes.