Dr. Kemaladewi has a strong interest in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying different pathophysiology associated with neuromuscular disorders (NMD), and translating these mechanisms into a variety of therapeutic strategies.
She received her PhD in October 2012 from Leiden University, the Netherlands under the mentorship of Prof. Gert-Jan van Ommen and Prof. Peter ‘t Hoen. Subsequently, she joined the laboratory of Prof. Ronald Cohn at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada as a postdoctoral fellow.
During her PhD and in the first few years of postdoctoral training, she focused on the development of genetic technologies, such as antisense oligonucleotides and CRISPR/Cas9 as therapeutic tools to counteract pro-fibrotic pathways and correct underlying mutations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Subsequently, she leveraged her expertise in muscle physiology and genetic therapies to investigate disease mechanisms involved in another rare pediatric NMD called LAMA2-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy (LAMA2-CMD). She identified polyamine metabolism as a protective disease modifier, developed and evaluated the therapeutic potentials of CRISPR/Cas9-based strategies to correct a causative mutation and upregulate a compensatory gene in a mouse model of LAMA2-CMD.
In February 2019, she will start a new position as an Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh and a Principal Investigator at the Center for Rare Disease Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, USA. Her independent research program will exploit the use of cutting-edge genetic technologies and novel animal models to understand neuromuscular disorders from the perspective of peripheral nervous system.