Michael W. Lawlor, MD, PhD

Adjunct Professor

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Locations

Children's Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Neurosciences - Children's

Specialties

Pathology - Anatomic
Pediatric Pathology

Languages

English

Education

MD - Doctor of Medicine
PhD

Biography

Dr. Lawlor received his medical degree and doctorate from Loyola University School of Medicine in Maywood, Illinois (2004). Since completing his postdoctoral research training at Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts in 2008, Dr. Lawlor has established clinical and research neuromuscular pathology laboratories at the Medical College of Wisconsin with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric muscle disease. His research interests include pathological analyses for preclinical trials in animal models of X-linked myotubular myopathy, nemaline myopathy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and a variety of other skeletal muscle and cardiac disorders. Dr. Lawlor is currently working with multiple industry partners in support of their gene therapy programs for genetic disorders involving skeletal muscle, heart, liver, lung, and other organ systems. He is a board-certified anatomic pathologist and neuropathologist, and has directed two clinical laboratories that perform diagnostic services for skeletal muscle and nerve biopsies. Dr. Lawlor has authored six book chapters and over 100 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In the summer of 2022, Dr. Lawlor spun out his academic research laboratory to establish a new commercial research laboratory, Diverge Translational Science Laboratory, outside of MCW, which is focused on continuing their work in supporting the translation of promising therapies from the preclinical through the clinical trial stages.

Research Interests

Congenital muscle disease (congenital myopathy and dystrophy)

Gene therapy

Treatment development

Adherence to and changes in mental and physiological health during an 8-week yoga intervention: A pilot study.

(Forseth B, Polfuss M, Brondino M, Hunter SD, Lawlor MW, Beatka MJ, Prom MJ, Eells J, Lyons JA.) J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2022 Apr;30:203-209 PMID: 35500972 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85126290657 05/03/2022
Muscle-directed gene therapy corrects Pompe disease and uncovers species-specific GAA immunogenicity.

(Eggers M, Vannoy CH, Huang J, Purushothaman P, Brassard J, Fonck C, Meng H, Prom MJ, Lawlor MW, Cunningham J, Sadhu C, Mavilio F.) EMBO Mol Med. 2022 Jan 11;14(1):e13968 PMID: 34850579 PMCID: PMC8749482 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85120325821 12/02/2021
INCEPTUS Natural History, Run-in Study for Gene Replacement Clinical Trial in X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy.

(Dowling JJ, Müller-Felber W, Smith BK, Bönnemann CG, Kuntz NL, Muntoni F, Servais L, Alfano LN, Beggs AH, Bilder DA, Blaschek A, Duong T, Graham RJ, Jain M, Lawlor MW, Lee J, Coats J, Lilien C, Lowes LP, MacBean V, Neuhaus S, Noursalehi M, Pitts T, Finlay C, Christensen S, Rafferty G, Seferian AM, Tsuchiya E, James ES, Miller W, Sepulveda B, Vila MC, Prasad S, Rico S, Shieh PB, INCEPTUS investigators.) J Neuromuscul Dis. 2022;9(4):503-516 PMID: 35694931 PMCID: PMC9398079 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85133659377 06/14/2022
Adherence to and changes in mental and physiological health during an 8-week yoga intervention: A pilot study

(Forseth B, Polfuss M, Brondino M, Hunter SD, Lawlor MW, Beatka MJ, Prom MJ, Eells J, Lyons JA.) Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. April 2022;30:203-209 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85126290657 04/01/2022
A Long-Term Study Evaluating the Effects of Nicorandil Treatment on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy-Associated Cardiomyopathy in mdx Mice.

(Gartz M, Haberman M, Prom MJ, Beatka MJ, Strande JL, Lawlor MW.) J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2022;27:10742484221088655 PMID: 35353647 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85127284016 03/31/2022
Muscle-directed gene therapy corrects Pompe disease and uncovers species-specific GAA immunogenicity

(Eggers M, Vannoy CH, Huang J, Purushothaman P, Brassard J, Fonck C, Meng H, Prom MJ, Lawlor MW, Cunningham J, Sadhu C, Mavilio F.) EMBO Molecular Medicine. 11 January 2022;14(1) SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85120325821 01/11/2022
Intrahepatic Cholestasis Is a Clinically Significant Feature Associated with Natural History of X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy (XLMTM): A Case Series and Biopsy Report.

(Molera C, Sarishvili T, Nascimento A, Rtskhiladze I, Muñoz Bartolo G, Fernández Cebrián S, Valverde Fernández J, Muñoz Cabello B, Graham RJ, Miller W, Sepulveda B, Kamath BM, Meng H, Lawlor MW.) J Neuromuscul Dis. 2022;9(1):73-82 PMID: 34366366 PMCID: PMC8842755 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85122787622 08/10/2021
Erratum: Voluntary wheel running complements microdystrophin gene therapy to improve muscle function in mdx mice.

(Hamm SE, Fathalikhani DD, Bukovec KE, Addington AK, Zhang H, Perry JB, McMillan RP, Lawlor MW, Prom MJ, Vanden Avond MA, Kumar SN, Coleman KE, Dupont JB, Mack DL, Brown DA, Morris CA, Gonzalez JP, Grange RW.) Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2021 Dec 10;23:460 PMID: 34820472 PMCID: PMC8585580 11/26/2021
Cardiomyocyte-produced miR-339-5p mediates pathology in Duchenne muscular dystrophy cardiomyopathy.

(Gartz M, Beatka M, Prom MJ, Strande JL, Lawlor MW.) Hum Mol Genet. 2021 Nov 16;30(23):2347-2361 PMID: 34270708 PMCID: PMC8600005 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85121129104 07/17/2021
X-linked myotubular myopathy.

(Lawlor MW, Dowling JJ.) Neuromuscul Disord. 2021 Oct;31(10):1004-1012 PMID: 34736623 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85118478299 11/06/2021
Cardioprotective effect of nicorandil on isoproterenol induced cardiomyopathy in the Mdx mouse model

(Sullivan RT, Lam NT, Haberman M, Beatka MJ, Afzal MZ, Lawlor MW, Strande JL.) BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. December 2021;21(1) SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85107953538 12/01/2021
The Effect of Immunomodulatory Treatments on Anti-Dystrophin Immune Response After AAV Gene Therapy in Dystrophin Deficient mdx Mice.

(Li N, Parkes JE, Spathis R, Morales M, Mcdonald J, Kendra RM, Ott EM, Brown KJ, Lawlor MW, Nagaraju K.) J Neuromuscul Dis. 2021;8(s2):S325-S340 PMID: 34569971 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85120957320 09/28/2021