Research Goals

The RMDR lab is located within the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Rockford. It was established because of the generous support of the Blazer Foundation. This lab is headed by Dr. Xue-Jun Li and Dr. Mathew Thoppil-Mathew who focus on fighting human motor neuron diseases and improving the integration of metal implants into the surrounding bone tissue, respectively. By combining stem cell biology, bioengineering, biomaterials, system biology, pharmacology and medicine, research in the RMDR lab aims to identify therapeutic agents, novel biomaterials and innovative approaches to improve the clinical practices and to provide better health care to the patients with disabilities. Our long-term goals are to contribute to the community and to improve the quality of life of patients with disabilities.