Emanuela Gussoni

Emanuela Gussoni is an Associate Professor in the Division of Genetics and Genomics at Harvard Medical School, with her laboratory based at Boston Children's Hospital. She leads the Gussoni Laboratory, which is part of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center and Research Genetics and Genomics Research units at Boston Children's Hospital. Her work bridges basic science and clinical applications in the field of muscular dystrophy and muscle stem cell biology.

Dr. Gussoni earned her PhD from the University of Milan, Italy, followed by postdoctoral training at Stanford University and Boston Children's Hospital. Her research career has focused on muscle stem cells and their potential for treating muscular dystrophy.

Her laboratory investigates muscle stem cells in human and mouse tissues with the translational goal of developing cell-based strategies to enhance regeneration or slow the progression of muscular dystrophy. A primary focus is understanding the function of tetraspanin CD82 in muscle stem cells, which serves as an excellent prospective marker for myogenic cells. Her team also discovers new antigens expressed by muscle stem cells and studies their role in normal and diseased tissue. Her work has led to important discoveries about bipotent progenitors in skeletal muscle that can adopt either muscle or fat lineages, and proteins that mediate fusion of myoblasts into myofibers.

Analysis of Dr. Gussoni's recent publications reveals a strong focus on muscle stem cell biology, with particular emphasis on CD82 as a marker for muscle satellite cells and its role in muscular dystrophies. Her work spans basic molecular mechanisms of muscle development and regeneration to translational applications for muscular dystrophy. Over the past decade, her research has evolved from characterizing muscle stem cell properties to developing potential therapeutic strategies, including cell-based therapies and understanding the molecular pathways that could be targeted for treatment.

• Harvard-BBS mentorship award for mentoring graduate students (2017)
• Permanent member of Muscular Dystrophy Association (USA) Scientific Advisory Committee (2006-2017)

Dr. Gussoni has mentored numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in her laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital. Her work has been supported by various grants focused on muscular dystrophy research and muscle stem cell biology. She has also contributed to the field through service on the Muscular Dystrophy Association Scientific Advisory Committee for over a decade.

The Gussoni Laboratory consists of researchers working on various aspects of muscle stem cell biology, including molecular characterization of muscle progenitors, development of methods for isolating and expanding muscle stem cells, and testing cell-based therapies in animal models of muscular dystrophy. The lab collaborates with clinicians at Boston Children's Hospital through the Roya Kabuki Program, of which Dr. Gussoni serves as co-director, connecting basic research with clinical applications.