Roy Morello, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert in the research of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). In addition to his contributions to understanding the genetic heterogeneity of the disease and how the disease affects the skeleton, in recent years he has pioneered the study of the impact of congenital collagen mutations on the lung and respiratory physiology.
In a long-standing collaboration with John Carroll, M.D., Chief of Pulmonology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Morello and Dr. Milena Dimori, a research assistant in the Morello laboratory, have generated new evidence that collagen alterations in mouse models that mimic OI but also Ehlers-Danlos syndrome cause primary morphological changes in the lung parenchyma which are accompanied by changes in respiratory mechanics.
In September, Dr. Morello was invited to orally present these data at the OI2022 international meeting on Osteogenesis Imperfecta in Sheffield (UK) and at the 2022 International Symposium of the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) & Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) in Rome (Italy). Dr. Morello’s research efforts in the field have also been recognized by a prestigious Innovation Award from the American Lung Association in the summer of 2022.