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Biography

Lan Wei-LaPierre joined the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology in 2020 as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor. As a previous medical doctor, her experience in patient contact inspired her to settle her research interest in identifying new therapeutic target for neuromuscular-related conditions. Dr. Wei-LaPierre has years of experience in studying muscle physiology, particularly in intracellular Ca²⁺ signaling in different cell compartments in isolated muscle cells.  She has accumulated a wide range of techniques throughout the earlier stage of her career including electrophysiology, confocal microscopy and two-photon microscopy. Her recent research interests are to investigate how mitochondrial Ca²⁺ and ROS affect the disease onset and progression of ALS and the muscle weakness in Down syndrome.

Research Interests

• ALS and neuromuscular junction degeneration
• Muscle weakness in Down syndrome
• Mitochondrial Ca2+ and redox signaling
• Intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis
• Identifying new therapeutic targets for neuromuscular conditions