Rate My Professor Chris Lorson

Christian L. Lorson, PhD, widely known as Chris Lorson, holds the position of Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology and Integrative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia's College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to his academic role, he serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Strategic Initiatives, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies within the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Director of the Missouri-wide Spinal Cord Injury/Disease Research Program. Lorson obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College in 1991 and his Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in 1997. He completed postdoctoral training as a fellow at Tufts University School of Medicine in 2000. His academic career commenced at Arizona State University in the Department of Biology, prior to joining the University of Missouri faculty in 2002 as an assistant professor, where he was promoted to professor in 2010.

The research in the Chris and Monique Lorson Laboratory centers on translational medicine, molecular genetics, and gene therapy strategies for neurodegenerative disorders, with a primary emphasis on spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), SMA with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1), and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). The lab has pioneered developments such as a splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide that significantly extends survival in SMA mouse models from a single neonatal dose, and has generated novel animal models for SMARD1 and CMT2S. Supported by more than $40 million in extramural funding from the NIH, Department of Defense, and organizations including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, CureSMA, and CMT Research Foundation, the lab collaborates on small molecule therapeutics and AAV-mediated gene delivery. Lorson co-founded Shift Pharmaceuticals in 2017, serving as Chief Scientific Officer; the company has obtained $9 million in non-dilutive NIH funding, including Phase I SBIR grants and a U44 award from NINDS. His contributions have earned him election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2022. Select publications include “ABT1 modifies SMARD1 pathology via interactions with IGHMBP2 and stimulation of ATPase and helicase activity” (JCI Insight, 2023), “Potential therapeutic targets for Mpox: the evidence to date” (Expert Opin Ther Targets, 2023), “Motor unit recovery following Smn restoration in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy” (Hum Mol Genet, 2022), and “A combinatorial approach increases SMN level in SMA model mice” (Hum Mol Genet, 2022).