Stump the Doctor: Exercise for DM
July 23rd, 2025
4:00 - 5:00 PM Pacific
Join us for a special "Stump the Doctor" session as a part of Myotonic Dystrophy In Motion Awareness Month!
Led by Dr. Andy Rohrwasser, MDF Chief Scientific Officer, this discussion will focus on the role of exercise in myotonic dystrophy. He’ll be joined by Movement Committee Member Donovan Lott, PhD, DPT, and cardiologist Matt Wheeler, MD, to answer your questions and share the latest research on how movement supports muscle health and long-term well-being in people with DM. Click here to register now! >>>
About the Presenter
Donovan Lott, PT, PhD, CSCS
Research Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
University of Florida
Dr. Donovan J. Lott completed his undergraduate degree in Exercise Science at Brigham Young University and his MSPT degree at Washington University School of Medicine.
After working in both outpatient and home-health settings as a physical therapist, he returned to Washington University to obtain a PhD in Movement Science with an emphasis in soft tissue mechanics. Dr. Lott came to the University of Florida as a post-doctoral fellow to work with Krista Vandenborne, PhD, PT, in the Muscle Physiology Laboratory.
Currently, he is a Research Associate Professor within the Department of Physical Therapy, and his primary teaching responsibilities are in the Basic Skills II and Prosthetics & Orthotics courses for the entry-level DPT students. His research interests include investigating skeletal muscle damage, exercise, and the relationship between muscle pathology and functional mobility in people with neuromuscular disease.
Matt Wheeler, MD
Cardiologist & Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine
University of Missouri School of Medicine
Matthew Wheeler is a physician scientist with interests in cardiomyopathies, rare and undiagnosed diseases, therapeutics and genomics. He is a physician with interest and experience treating patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, neuromuscular disease associated cardiomyopathies including adults with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, myotonic dystrophy, limb girdle muscular dystrophies, inherited dilated cardiomyopathies, advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support/LVADs, heart and multiorgan transplant, and competitive athletes with cardiac disease.
He is Director of the Stanford Center for Undiagnosed Diseases, a clinical site of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. He has extensive translational science efforts, as site PI for ongoing clinical trials for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy and for cardiomyopathy consortia including NONCOMPACT, PPCM and the Precision Medicine Study/DCM Consortium. He is Co-PI of the GREGoR Stanford Site, a research center of the GREGoR Consortium, and Co-PI of the NIH-funded Bioinformatics Center of the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium.
Dr. Wheeler's laboratory efforts focus on advancing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in ultrarare diseases, with a focus on RNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics. He pursues projects and collaborations at the intersection of striated muscle genetics, genomics, therapeutics and clinical investigation.
Andy Rohrwasser, PhD, MBA
Chief Scientific Officer
Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF)
Dr. Andy Rohrwasser joined MDF in November 2023. He brings with him a broad and diverse background in academic science, venture backed start-ups and public health. Andy’s domain expertise and passion are rare diseases, genetics and genomics, and newborn screening. Andy implemented gene agnostic, next-generation sequencing as a universal second tier newborn screening modality. Under his leadership, Utah was the first state in the US to implement population wide screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
Andy serves as an adjunct associate professor in pediatric neurology at the University of Utah, where he also received his PhD in Human Genetics and an MBA. As the laboratory director for the Utah Public Health Laboratory he oversaw multiple operational units with diverse regulatory requirements, customer bases and stakeholders.
Andy was the principal investigator of multiple, multi-year research projects funded by HRSA, CMS, APHL, and CDC. He serves on multiple advisory committees for the CDC and APHL, and he has served as reviewer for NIH study sections, and multiple scientific journals as well as a member of the Utah IRB.
Thank you to our sponsor, Avidity Biosciences, for making this event possible!
About Myotonic Dystrophy In Motion Awareness Month
This July, the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation (MDF) is thrilled to host the 2025 Myotonic Dystrophy In Motion Awareness Month, a month-long celebration centered around the theme: Movement Matters.
All month long, the DM community will come together to explore the power of movement through weekly movement moment activities, live webinars with DM and movement experts, and opportunities to connect and share personal movement practices. Whether you’re starting a new routine or building on existing habits, this is a chance to learn how daily movement can support wellness and improve quality of life.
Click here to learn more about Myotonic Dystrophy In Motion Awareness Month! >>>