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Neuro-Muscular Labs (NML) is a collaborative neuroscience research collective located within the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building at the University of Missouri. Our laboratories integrate expertise in molecular biology, cellular neuroscience, electrophysiology, advanced imaging, rehabilitation science and translational medicine to study diseases affecting the nervous and muscular systems.
Our research spans a broad range of neuromuscular, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), myotonic dystrophy (DM), myasthenia gravis (MG), sarcopenia and disorders impacting cognition, learning and memory. Across these conditions, we investigate how dysfunction within nerves, myelin, motor neurons, muscles and synapses drives disease progression and disability.
To address these questions, our teams utilize advanced experimental approaches including super-resolution microscopy, quantitative electrophysiology, molecular profiling, human biospecimen analysis, behavioral phenotyping and preclinical disease models. We also focus on translational therapeutic development, including precision medicine strategies.
A defining strength of NML is our highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment. By sharing expertise, technologies and scientific perspectives across laboratories, we accelerate discovery while training the next generation of neuroscientists and physician-scientists committed to improving outcomes for individuals living with neurological and neuromuscular disease.
Advanced Imaging
Functional Physiology
Cellular Disease Modeling
Precision Therapeutics
W. David Arnold, MD
Professor and NextGen Executive Director
Translational Neuromuscular Physiology
Smita Saxena, PhD
Professor
Neuronal and Circuit Vulnerability in Disease
Hiroshi Nishimune, PhD
Professor
NMJ Development and Degeneration
Ryan Castoro, DO
Assistant Professor
Proprioception and Peripheral Nerve Aging
Bornali Kundu, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Memory Networks and Brain Stimulation
Curtis Nutter, PhD
Assistant Professor
RNA Regulation in Neuromuscular Disease
Kathryn Moss, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dysmyelinating Neuropathy Mechanisms
Andrea Sierra Delgado, MD
Assistant Research Professor
Gene Therapy for Rare Neurological Disease
Kristina Kelly, DPT
Assistant Research Professor
Weakness and Fatigue in Aging and Disease
Provisional Patent Filed for Therapeutic Strategy
News & Media
Apr 6, 2026
A provisional patent was filed by the laboratories of Dr. Arnold and Dr. Castoro for translational strategies targeting age-related functional decline.
Thermosensory Deficits Across Neuropathy Models
Publications, Trainee Highlights
Mar 1, 2026
Research from the laboratory of Dr. Castoro, led by Dr. Vaibhav Oberoi and in collaboration with Dr. Arnold, Dr. Moss and Dr. Saxena, was published in the Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System: “Behavioral thermoceptive responses and morphologic correlates in mouse models of CMT1A, HNPP, and aging”
