Dr. Clemens joined the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in 1998 as a staff physician and researcher. Her clinical and research expertise are in neuromuscular disease, with a specific focus on genetic muscle diseases. Dr. Clemens collaborates with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and other centers around the world to pursue translational research developing novel treatments for muscular dystrophy.

What are the most important questions that define your research program?

• Can we develop treatments to prevent or ameliorate the skeletal muscle degeneration caused by muscular dystrophy?
• Can we develop novel treatments for late-onset Pompe disease?
• What are downstream mechanisms of skeletal muscle degeneration in muscular dystrophy and inflammatory myopathy?