MitoWorld

In “Beyond the Disease” MitoWorld partners with the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) to highlight advances in mitochondrial science and the people responsible for them. www.MitoWorld.org is devoted to better public and medical understanding of underlying mitochondrial science in an effort to raise awareness of the field in order to attract greater funding for the pursuit of mitochondrial disease and dysfunction.

In The Mighty UCLA Mitochondria Core, MitoWorld editor Gary Howard writes about the unique Core research facility established at UCLA by Orian Shirihai, MD, PhD who runs a mitochondria and metabolism research lab that has opened up this unique three-labs-in-one Core facility to promote mitochondria research by UCLA researchers and doctors and outside faculty and companies.

Two heat maps showing the distribution of mitochondria in the human brain, mostly concentrated near the outer regions

In Mapping the Mitochondria in the Brain, MitoWorld editor Gary Howard writes about an unprecedented effort to look at the distribution of mitochondria throughout the brain. Conducted by Columbia professor Martin Picard, PhD, leader of the Mitochondria PsychoBiological Lab, a human brain was carved into thousands of cubes to make measurements. Michel Thiebaut de Shotten, PhD, a neuroanatomist from the CNRS in Bordeaux conducted the computational work.

In Modeling Human Mitochondrial Diseases MitoWorld editor Gary Howard writes about a paper published in Cell where a research group led by Agnel Sfeir at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center showed that gene editing can be used to engineer specific mtDNA mutations.

Isha Jain and Skyler Blume talking in a laboratory

In Thin Air, MitoWorld editor Gary Howard writes about the important work in published in Cell from the laboratory of Isha Jain, Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, about a small molecule inhibitor that can control excess oxygen levels resulting from dysfunctional mitochondria.

In Navdeep S. Chandel: Moving Well Beyond “The Powerhouse of the Cell,” MitoWorld founder and organizer, writes about the careful mitochondrial research led by Lurie Prize winner Navdeep Chandel, PhD, who heads the Chandel Lab at Northwestern. Chandel is not just a leader in front-line mitochondrial research; he practices deep stewardship for the field with colleagues around the world.

Beyond The Disease, April 2, 2025