Richard’s research interests include comparative aspects of primary muscle disorders, including exertional rhabdomyolysis, polysaccharide storage myopathy and atypical myopathy in horses, centronuclear myopathy and dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy in dogs. His laboratory also has a growing international programme of research into recurrent laryngeal neuropathy in horses ("roaring"). Most research is laboratory-based, using cell and molecular biological techniques.

Richard directs the Comparative Neuromuscular Disease Laboratory, which provides a service for the histopathological assessment of muscle biopsy samples from veterinary clinical cases across Europe.

Hildyard JCW, Piercy RJ. When Size Really Matters: The Eccentricities of Dystrophin Transcription and the Hazards of Quantifying mRNA from Very Long Genes. Biomedicines. 2023 Jul 24;11(7):2082. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11072082. PMID: 37509720; PMCID: PMC10377302.

Crawford AH, Hildyard JCW, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Identification of quantitative polymerase chain reaction reference genes suitable for normalising gene expression in the brain of normal and dystrophic mice and dogs. Wellcome Open Res. 2023 May 5;6:84. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16707.2. PMID: 37942409; PMCID: PMC10628364.

Lindsay-McGee V, Sanchez-Molano E, Banos G, Clark EL, Piercy RJ, Psifidi A. Genetic characterisation of the Connemara pony and the Warmblood horse using a within-breed clustering approach. Genet Sel Evol. 2023 Aug 17;55(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s12711-023-00827-w. PMID: 37592264; PMCID: PMC10436415.

Crawford AH, Hornby NL, de la Fuente AG, Piercy RJ. Brain magnetic resonance imaging in the DE50-MD dog model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy reveals regional reductions in cerebral gray matter. BMC Neurosci. 2023 Mar 17;24(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s12868-023-00788-2. PMID: 36932329; PMCID: PMC10024360.

Hildyard JCW, Riddell DO, Harron RCM, Rawson F, Foster EMA, Massey C, Taylor-Brown F, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. The skeletal muscle phenotype of the DE50-MD dog model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Wellcome Open Res. 2022 Sep 23;7:238. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18251.1. PMID: 36865375; PMCID: PMC9971692.

Morin A, Stantzou A, Petrova ON, Hildyard J, Tensorer T, Matouk M, Petkova MV, Richard I, Manoliu T, Goyenvalle A, Falcone S, Schuelke M, Laplace-Builhé C, Piercy RJ, Garcia L, Amthor H. Dystrophin myonuclear domain restoration governs treatment efficacy in dystrophic muscle. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jan 10;120(2):e2206324120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2206324120. Epub 2023 Jan 3. PMID: 36595689; PMCID: PMC9926233.

Hildyard JCW, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Identification of qPCR reference genes suitable for normalising gene expression in the developing mouse embryo. Wellcome Open Res. 2022 Sep 21;6:197. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16972.2. PMID: 35509373; PMCID: PMC9024131.

Pollott GE, Piercy RJ, Massey C, Salavati M, Cheng Z, Wathes DC. Locating a novel autosomal recessive genetic variant in the cattle glucokinase gene using only WGS data from three cases and six carriers. Front Genet. 2022 Aug 29;13:755693. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.755693. PMID: 36105082; PMCID: PMC9465091.

Cahalan SD, Perkins JD, Boehm I, Jones RA, Gillingwater TH, Piercy RJ. A method to identify, dissect and stain equine neuromuscular junctions for morphological analysis. J Anat. 2022 Nov;241(5):1133-1147. doi: 10.1111/joa.13747. Epub 2022 Sep 10. PMID: 36087283; PMCID: PMC9558161.

Riddell DO, Hildyard JCW, Harron RCM, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Longitudinal assessment of blood-borne musculoskeletal disease biomarkers in the DE50-MD dog model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Wellcome Open Res. 2022 Aug 17;6:354. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17398.2. PMID: 35600245; PMCID: PMC9111359.

Crawford AH, Hildyard JCW, Rushing SAM, Wells DJ, Diez-Leon M, Piercy RJ. Validation of DE50-MD dogs as a model for the brain phenotype of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dis Model Mech. 2022 Jan 12:dmm.049291. doi: 10.1242/dmm.049291. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35019137.

Riddell DO, Hildyard JCW, Harron RCM, Hornby NL, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Serum inflammatory cytokines as disease biomarkers in the DE50-MD dog model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dis Model Mech. 2022 Dec 1;15(12):dmm049394. doi: 10.1242/dmm.049394. Epub 2022 Dec 9. PMID: 36444978; PMCID: PMC9789403.

Cahalan SD, Boehm I, Jones RA, Piercy RJ. Recognising the potential of large animals for modelling neuromuscular junction physiology and disease. J Anat. 2022 Nov;241(5):1120-1132. doi: 10.1111/joa.13749. Epub 2022 Sep 2. PMID: 36056593; PMCID: PMC9558152.

Adalbert R, Cahalan S, Hopkins EL, Almuhanna A, Loreto A, Pór E, Körmöczy L, Perkins J, Coleman MP, Piercy RJ. Cultured dissociated primary dorsal root ganglion neurons from adult horses enable study of axonal transport. J Anat. 2022 Nov;241(5):1211-1218. doi: 10.1111/joa.13719. Epub 2022 Jun 21. PMID: 35728923; PMCID: PMC9558156.

Hornby NL, Drees R, Harron R, Chang R, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Musculoskeletal magnetic resonance imaging in the DE50-MD dog model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Neuromuscul Disord. 2021 Aug;31(8):736-751. doi: 10.1016/j.nmd.2021.05.010. Epub 2021 Jun 2. PMID: 34384671; PMCID: PMC8449064.

O'Hara V, Cowan A, Riddell D, Massey C, Martin J, Piercy RJ. A highly prevalent SINE mutation in the myostatin (MSTN) gene promoter is associated with low circulating myostatin concentration in Thoroughbred racehorses. Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 12;11(1):7916. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86783-1. PMID: 33846367; PMCID: PMC8041750.

González-Medina S, Bevin W, Alzola-Domingo R, Chang YM, Piercy RJ. Hypoglycin A absorption in sheep without concurrent clinical or biochemical evidence of disease. J Vet Intern Med. 2021 Mar;35(2):1170-1176. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16077. Epub 2021 Mar 6. PMID: 33675130; PMCID: PMC7995363.

Laforêt P, Oldfors A, Malfatti E, Vissing J; 251st ENMC international workshop: Polyglucosan storage myopathies 13-15 December 2019, Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Neuromuscul Disord. 2021 Jan 23:S0960-8966(21)00012-2. doi: 10.1016/j.nmd.2021.01.010. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33602551.

Hildyard JCW, Crawford AH, Rawson F, Riddell DO, Harron RCM, Piercy RJ. Single-transcript multiplex in situ hybridisation reveals unique patterns of dystrophin isoform expression in the developing mammalian embryo. Wellcome Open Res. 2020 Jul 20;5:76. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15762.2. eCollection 2020.

Hildyard JCW, Rawson F, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ.Multiplex in situ hybridization within a single transcript: RNAscope reveals dystrophin mRNA dynamics. PLoS One. 2020 Sep 24;15(9):e0239467. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239467. eCollection 2020.

González-Medina S, Hyde C, Lovera I, Piercy RJ.Detection of hypoglycin A and MCPA-carnitine in equine serum and muscle tissue: optimisation and validation of a LC-MS-based method without derivatisation. Equine Vet J. 2020 Jun 11. doi: 10.1111/evj.13303. Online ahead of print.

Draper ACE, Wilson Z, Maile C,Faccenda D, Campanella M, Piercy RJ. Species-specific consequences of an E40K missense mutation in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). FASEB 2019 Early View.

Curtin NA, Woledge RC, West TG, Goodwin D, Piercy RJ, Wilson AM. Energy turnover in mammalian skeletal muscle in contractions mimicking locomotion: effects of stimulus pattern on work, impulse and energetic cost and efficiency. J Exp Biol. 2019 Jun 20. pii: jeb.203877. doi: 10.1242/jeb.203877.

McCoy AM, Beeson SK, Rubin CJ, Andersson L, Caputo P, Lykkjen S, Moore A, Piercy RJ, Mickelson JR, McCue ME. Identification and validation of genetic variants predictive of gait in standardbred horses. PLoS Genet. 2019 May 28;15(5):e1008146. doi: 10.1371

Cercone M, Jarvis JC, Ducharme NG, Perkins J, Piercy RJ, Willand MP, Mitchell  LM, Sledziona M, Soderholm L, Cheetham J. Functional electrical stimulation following nerve injury in a large animal model. Muscle Nerve. 2019 Jun;59(6):717-725.

Cercone M, Hokanson CM, Olsen E, Ducharme NG, Mitchell LM, Piercy RJ, Cheetham J. Asymmetric recurrent laryngeal nerve conduction velocities and dorsal cricoarytenoid muscle electromyographic characteristics in clinically normal horses. Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 25;9(1):2713. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39189-z.

González-Medina S, Montesso F, Chang YM, Hyde C, Piercy RJ. Atypical myopathy-associated hypoglycin A toxin remains in sycamore seedlings despite mowing, herbicidal spraying or storage in hay and silage. Equine Vet J. 2019 Jan  10. doi: 10.1111/evj.13070.

Amoasii L, Hildyard JCW, Li H, Sanchez-Ortiz E, Mireault A, Caballero D, Harron R, Stathopoulou TR, Massey C, Shelton JM, Bassel-Duby R, Piercy RJ, Olson  EN. Gene editing restores dystrophin expression in a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Science. 2018 Aug 30. pii: eaau1549. doi: 10.1126/science.aau1549.

González Medina S, Hyde C, Lovera I, Piercy RJ. Detection of equine atypical myopathy-associated hypoglycin A in plant material: Optimisation and validation of a novel LC-MS based method without derivatisation. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 3;13(7):e0199521. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199521.

Draper ACE, Piercy RJ. Pathological classification of equine recurrent laryngeal neuropathy. J Vet Intern Med. 2018 Jul;32(4):1397-1409. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15142. Epub 2018 Apr 24. Review. 

Hildyard JCW, Taylor-Brown F, Massey C, Wells DJ, Piercy RJ. Determination of  qPCR Reference Genes Suitable for Normalizing Gene Expression in a Canine Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2018;5(2):177-191. doi: 10.3233/JND-170267. PubMed PMID: 29614692.

Olsen E, Fouche N, Jordan H, Pfau T, Piercy RJ.Kinematic discrimination of ataxia in horses is facilitated by blindfolding. Equine Vet J. 2017 Aug 10. doi: 10.1111/evj.12737

González-Medina S, Ireland JL, Piercy RJ, Newton JR, Votion DM.Equine atypical myopathy in the UK: Epidemiological characteristics of cases reported from 2011 to 2015 and factors associated with survival. Equine Vet J. 2017 Apr 26

Nghiem PP, Bello L, Balog-Alvarez C, López SM, Bettis A, Barnett H, Hernandez B, Schatzberg SJ, Piercy RJ, Kornegay JN.Whole genome sequencing reveals a 7 base-pair deletion in DMD exon 42 in a dog with muscular dystrophy. Mamm Genome. 2017 Apr;28(3-4):106-113

Walmsley G, Blot S, Venner K, Sewry C, Laporte J, Blondelle J, Barthelemy I, Maurer M, Blanchard-Gutton N, Pilot-Storck F, Tiret L, Piercy RJ. Progressive Structural Defects in Canine Centronuclear Myopathy Indicate a Role for HACD1 in Maintaining Skeletal Muscle Membrane Systems. American Journal of Pathology. Am J Pathol. 2017 Feb;187(2):441-456

Maile, CA, Hingst, JR, Mahalingan, KK, O'Reilly, AO, Cleasby, M, Mickelson, JR, McCue, ME, Anderson, SM, Hurley, TD, Wojyaszewski, JF, Piercy, RJ. A highly prevalent equine glycogen storage disease is explained by constitutive activation of a mutant glycogen synthase. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta - General. Aug 31. pii: S0304-4165(16)30321-X

Scalco RS, Voermans NC, Piercy RJ, Jungbluth H, Quinlivan R. Dantrolene as a possible prophylactic treatment for RYR1-related rhabdomyolysis. Eur J Neurol. 2016 Aug;23(8):e56-7. doi: 10.1111/ene.13051. PubMed PMID: 27431030.

Norton EM, Mickelson JR, Binns MM, Blott SC, Caputo P, Isgren CM, McCoy AM, Moore A, Piercy RJ, Swinburne JE, Vaudin M, McCue ME. Heritability of Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis in Standardbred and Thoroughbred Racehorses Derived From SNP Genotyping Data. J Hered. 2016 Aug 3. pii: esw042.

Cheetham J, Perkins JD, Jarvis JC, Cercone M, Maw M, Hermanson JW, Mitchell LM, Piercy RJ, Ducharme NG. Effects of Functional Electrical Stimulation on Denervated Laryngeal Muscle in a Large Animal Model. Artif Organs. 2015 Oct;39(10):876-85.

Chalmers HJ, Caswell J, Perkins J, Goodwin D, Viel L, Ducharme NG, Piercy RJ. Ultrasonography detects early laryngeal muscle atrophy in an equine neurectomy model. Muscle Nerve. 2015 ;53(4):583-92

Blondelle J, Ohno Y, Gache V, Guyot S, Storck S, Blanchard-Gutton N, Barthélémy I, Walmsley G, Rahier A, Gadin S, Maurer M, Guillaud L, Prola A, Ferry A, Aubin-Houzelstein G, Demarquoy J, Relaix F, Piercy RJ, Blot S, Kihara A, Tiret L, Pilot-Storck F. HACD1, a regulator of membrane composition and fluidity, promotes myoblast fusion and skeletal muscle growth. J Mol Cell Biol. 2015 Jul 9.pii: mjv049. 

Naylor RJ, Piercy RJ. Development of a clonal equine myoblast cell line capable of terminal differentiation into mature myotubes in vitro. Am J Vet Res.  2015 Jul;76(7):608-14.

Fjordbakk CT, Revold T, Goodwin D, Piercy RJ. Histopathological assessment of intrinsic laryngeal musculature in horses with dynamic laryngeal collapse. Equine Vet J. 2014 Sep 25. doi: 10.1111/evj.12357.

Fernandez-Fuente M, Terracciano CM, Martin-Duque P, Brown SC, Vassaux G, Piercy RJ. Calcium Homeostasis in Myogenic Differentiation Factor 1 (MyoD)-Transformed, Virally-Transduced, Skin-Derived Equine Myotubes. PLoS One. 2014 Aug 22;9(8):e105971.

Anfinsen KP, Piercy RJ, Massey C, Smith KC, Kenny PJ, Garden OA. Severe systemic calciphylaxis in a young cat. J Vet Intern Med. 2014 Jul-Aug;28(4):1325-30.

Olsen E, Dunkel B, Barker WH, Finding EJ, Perkins JD, Witte TH, Yates LJ, Andersen PH, Baiker K, Piercy RJ. Rater agreement on gait assessment during neurologic examination of horses. J Vet Intern Med. 2014 Mar-Apr;28(2):630-8.

Fernandez-Fuente M, Martin-Duque P, Vassaux G, Brown SC, Muntoni F,Terracciano CM, Piercy RJ. Adenovirus-mediated expression of myogenic differentiation factor 1 (MyoD) in equine and human dermal fibroblasts enables their conversion to caffeine sensitive myotubes. Neuromuscul Disord. 2013 Nov 23. pii: S0960-8966(13)01000-6.

Massey CA, Walmsley GL, Gliddon TP, Piercy RJ. Vacuolar myopathy in an adult Warmblood horse. Neuromuscul Disord. 2013 Jun;23(6):473-7.

Petersen JL, Mickelson JR, Cothran EG, Andersson LS, Axelsson J, Bailey E, Bannasch D, Binns MM, Borges AS, Brama P, da Câmara Machado A, Distl O, Felicetti M, Fox-Clipsham L, Graves KT, Guérin G, Haase B, Hasegawa T, Hemmann K, Hill EW,  Leeb T, Lindgren G, Lohi H, Lopes MS, McGivney BA, Mikko S, Orr N, Penedo MC, Piercy RJ, Raekallio M, Rieder S, Røed KH, Silvestrelli M, Swinburne J, Tozaki T, Vaudin M, M Wade C, McCue ME. Genetic diversity in the modern horse illustrated from genome-wide SNP data. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e54997.

Petersen JL, Mickelson JR, Rendahl AK, Valberg SJ, Andersson LS, Axelsson J, Bailey E, Bannasch D, Binns MM, Borges AS, Brama P, da Câmara Machado A, Capomaccio S, Cappelli K, Cothran EG, Distl O, Fox-Clipsham L, Graves KT, Guérin  G, Haase B, Hasegawa T, Hemmann K, Hill EW, Leeb T, Lindgren G, Lohi H, Lopes MS, McGivney BA, Mikko S, Orr N, Penedo MC, Piercy RJ, Raekallio M, Rieder S, Røed KH, Swinburne J, Tozaki T, Vaudin M, Wade CM, McCue ME. Genome-wide analysis reveals selection for important traits in domestic horse breeds. PLoS Genet. 2013 Jan;9(1):e1003211.

Naylor R, Livesey L, Schumacher J, Henke N, Massey, C, Brock K, Fernandez-Fuente M, Piercy RJ. Allele copy number and underlying pathology are associated with subclinical severity in equine type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM1). PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e42317. Epub 2012 Jul 31

Naylor R, Luis Fuentes V., Livesey L. Mobley C, Henke N, Brock K, Fernandez-Fuente M, Piercy RJ. Evaluation of cardiac phenotype in horses with type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM1). J Vet Intern Med. 2012; Sep 15. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2012.00988

van Galen G, Marcillaud Pitel C, Saegerman C, Patarin F, Amory H, Baily JD, Cassart D, Gerber V, Hahn C, Harris P, Keen JA, Kirschvink N, Lefere L, McGorum B, Muller JM, Picavet MT, Piercy RJ, Roscher K, Serteyn D, Unger L, van der Kolk JH, van Loon G, Verwilghen D, Westermann CM, Votion DM. European outbreaks of atypical myopathy in grazing equids (2006-2009): Spatiotemporal distribution, history and clinical features. Equine Vet J. 2012 Mar 26. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2012.00556.x.

van Galen G, Saegerman C, Marcillaud Pitel C, Patarin F, Amory H, Baily JD, Cassart D, Gerber V, Hahn C, Harris P, Keen JA, Kirschvink N, Lefere L, McGorum B, Muller JM, Picavet MT, Piercy RJ, Roscher K, Serteyn D, Unger L, van der Kolk JH, van Loon G, Verwilghen D, Westermann CM, Votion DM. European outbreaks of atypical myopathy in grazing horses (2006-2009): Determination of indicators for risk and prognostic factors. Equine Vet J. 2012 Mar 13. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2012.00555.x.

Finding E, Fletcher N, Avella C, Naylor RJ, Volk HA, Weller R, Dunkel B, Piercy RJ. Standing CT and clinical progression of equine cholesterol granulomata. Vet Rec. 2012 Mar;170(11):289.

Tulloch LK, Perkins JD, Piercy RJ. Multiple immunofluorescent labelling enables simultaneous identification of all mature fibre types in a single equine skeletal muscle cryosection. Equine Vet J. 2011; 43(4) 500-3

Priestnall SL, Schöniger S, Ivens PA, Eickmann M, Brachthäuser L, Kehr K, Tupper C, Piercy RJ, Menzies-Gow NJ, Herden C. Borna disease virus infection of a horse in Great Britain. Vet Rec. 2011 Apr 9;168 (14):380b

McCue, M.E.,Anderson, S.M., Valberg, S.J., Piercy, R.J. ,Barakzai, S.Z., Binns, M.M., Distl, O., Penedo, S.M., Wagner M.L., JR Mickelson. Estimated prevalence of the Type 1 Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy mutation in selected North American and European breeds. Animal Genetics. 2010 Dec;41 Suppl 2:145-9

Claridge, H.A.H., Parry, A., Piercy, R.J. and Weller, R. The 3D anatomy of the cervical articular process joints in the horse. Equine Vet J. Nov;42(8):726-31.

Perkins JD, Meighan H, Windley Z, Troester S, Piercy RJ, Schumacher J. In vitro effect of ventriculocordectomy before laryngoplasty on abduction of the equine arytenoid cartilage. Vet Surg. 2011 May;40(3):305-10

Perkins, J.D., Raffetto, J., Thompson, C., Weller, R., Piercy, R.J. and Pfau, T. Three-dimensional biomechanics of simulated laryngeal abduction in horses. Am J Vet Res. 2010 Sep;71(9):1003-10

Baker K., Saunders, N., Summers, B.A., Piercy, R.J., K. Smith. Hydranencephaly in a foal – a case report. Equine Vet Educ. 2010; 22 593-598

Naylor, R.J., Priestnall, S.L., Turk, A.C., Summers, B.A. Schöniger, S. and R.J. Piercy. Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy in a horse in the UK. Vet Rec. 2010 Sep 4;167(10):380-1.

Isgren, C.M., Upjohn, M.M., Fernandez-Fuente, M., Massey, C., Pollott G., Verheyen, K.L.P., R.J. Piercy. Epidemiology of Exertional Rhabdomyolysis Susceptibility in Standardbred Horses Reveals Associated Risk Factors and Underlying Enhanced Performance. PLoS One. 2010 Jul 14;5(7):e11594.

Naylor RJ, Perkins JD, Allen S, Aldred J, Draper E, Patterson-Kane J, Piercy RJ. Histopathology and computed tomography of age-associated degeneration of the equine temporohyoid joint. Equine Vet J. 2010 Jul;42(5):425-30.

WALMSLEY G, ARECHAVALA-GOMEZA V, FERNANDEZ-FUENTE M, BURKE MM, NAGEL N, HOLDER A, STANLEY R, CHANDLER K, MARKS SL, MUNTONI F, SHELTON GD, PIERCY RJ. A Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Gene Hot Spot Mutation in Dystrophin-Deficient Cavalier King Charles Spaniels is Amenable to Exon 51 Skipping. PLoS One. PLoS One. 2010 Jan 13;5(1):e8647

IVENS P, PIERCY RJ. ELIASHAR, E..  Inguinal herniation of large colon in a cob gelding four weeks post-castration. Vet Rec. 2009 Sep 26;165(13):380-1

PERKINS JP, SALZ RO, SCHUMACHER J, LIVESEY L, PIERCY RJ, BARAKZAI SZ.. Variability of Resting Endoscopic Grading for Assessment of Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy in Horses. Equine vet. J. 2009; 41, 342-346

Piercy RJ, Walmsley G. Muscular dystrophy in Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Vet Rec. 2009 Jul 11;165(2):62

UNT VE AND PIERCY RJ. Vertebral embryology and equine congenital vertebral anomalies. Equine vet. Educ. 2009; 21, 212-214

STANLEY RL., M E MCCUE, S J VALBERG, J R MICKELSON, I G MAYHEW, C MCGOWAN, C N HAHN, J C PATTERSON-KANE, R J PIERCY. A glycogen synthase 1 mutation associated with equine polysaccharide storage myopathy and exertional rhabdomyolysis occurs in a variety of UK breeds. Equine vet. J. 2009; 41, 597-601

ACKROYD MR, SKORDIS L, KALUARACHCHI M, PRIOR S, GODWIN J, PIERCY RJ, MUNTONI F, BROWN SC. Reduced expression of fukutin related protein (FKRP) in mice results in a model for FKRP related muscular dystrophies. Brain. 2009 Feb;132(Pt 2): 439-51. PubMed ID 19155270

STANLEY, R, MAILE, C, PIERCY RJ. Storage associated artefact in equine muscle biopsy specimens. Equine Veterinary Journal. Volume 41, Number 1, January 2009 , pp. 82-86(5) PubMedID 19301587

M FERNANDEZ-FUENTE, E AMES, M WAGNER, H ZHOU, M STROM, P ZAMMIT, J MICKELSON, F MUNTONI, S BROWN, RJ PIERCY. Assessment of the transformation of equine skin–derived fibroblasts to multinucleated skeletal myotubes following lentiviralinduced expression of equine myogenic differentiation 1. Am J Vet Res 2008;69:1637–1645 PubMedID 19046012

BROWN SC., PIERCY RJ, MUNTONI F, SEWRY C. Investigating the pathology of Emery Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy. Biochem Soc Trans. 2008 Dec;36(Pt 6):1335-8. PubMed 19021551

FERNANDEZ-FUENTE M; TERRACCIANO CMN; PIERCY RJ. (2008). Dose-dependent effect of caffeine on intracellular calcium concentration of cultured skeletal myotubes derived from equine skin. J Vet Intern Med. 22:753-754.

PIERCY, R. J., ZHOU, H., FENG, L., POMBO, A., MUNTONI, F. & BROWN, S. C. (2007) Desmin immunolocalisation in autosomal dominant Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. Neuromuscul Disord 17, 297-305. PubMed ID 17329105

DRANCHAK, P. K., LEIPER, F. C., VALBERG, S. J., PIERCY, R. J., CARLING, D., MCCUE, M. E. & MICKELSON, J. R. (2007) Biochemical and genetic evaluation of the role of AMP-activated protein kinase in polysaccharide storage myopathy in Quarter Horses. Am J Vet Res 68, 1079-1084. PubMed ID 17916014

JOSE-CUNILLERAS E; PIERCY RJ. (2007). Advanced diagnostic imaging options in horses with neurological disease that localises to the head. Equine Vet Educ. 19:179-181.

STANLEY R; PIERCY RJ. (2007). Breed susceptibility in equine polysaccharide storage myopathy. Equine Vet Educ. 19:143-145.

MUNTONI, F., BONNE, G., GOLDFARB, L. G., MERCURI, E., PIERCY, R. J., BURKE, M., YAOU, R. B., RICHARD, P., RECAN, D., SHATUNOV, A., SEWRY, C. A. & BROWN, S. C. (2006) Disease severity in dominant Emery Dreifuss is increased by mutations in both emerin and desmin proteins. Brain 129, 1260-1268. PubMed ID 16585054

SCHWARZ B; PIERCY RJ. (2006). Cerebrospinal fluid collection and its analysis in equine neurological disease. Equine Vet Educ. 18:243-248.

MERCURI, E., BROWN, S. C., NIHOYANNOPOULOS, P., POULTON, J., KINALI, M., RICHARD, P., PIERCY, R. J., MESSINA, S., SEWRY, C., BURKE, M. M., MCKENNA, W., BONNE, G. & MUNTONI, F. (2005) Extreme variability of skeletal and cardiac muscle involvement in patients with mutations in exon 11 of the lamin A/C gene. Muscle Nerve 31, 602-609. PubMed ID 15770669

LEE, J. A., HINCHCLIFF, K. W., PIERCY, R. J., SCHMIDT, K. E. & NELSON, S., JR. (2004) Effects of racing and nontraining on plasma thyroid hormone concentrations in sled dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 224, 226-231. PubMed ID 14736066

PIERCY RJ; POMBO A; STEWART CL; MUNTONI F; BROWN SC. (2003). Does an association of nuclear replication and transcription sites with the nuclear matrix underlie the pathogenesis of the laminopathies? Neuromuscular Disord. 13:658-658.

PIERCY, R. J., HINCHCLIFF, K. W. & REED, S. M. (2002) Folate deficiency during treatment with orally administered folic acid, sulphadiazine and pyrimethamine in a horse with suspected equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Equine Vet J 34, 311-316. PubMed ID 12108754

PIERCY, R. J., HINCHCLIFF, K. W., MORLEY, P. S., DISILVESTRO, R. A., REINHART, G. A., NELSON, S. L., SCHMIDT, K. E. & MORRIE CRAIG, A. (2001) Association between vitamin E and enhanced athletic performance in sled dogs. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33, 826-833. PubMed ID 11323556

PIERCY, R. J., HINCHCLIFF, K. W., MORLEY, P. S., DISILVESTRO, R. A., REINHART, G. A., NELSON, S. L., JR., SCHMIDT, K. E. & CRAIG, A. M. (2001) Vitamin E and exertional rhabdomyolysis during endurance sled dog racing. Neuromuscul Disord 11, 278-286. PubMed ID 11297943

PIERCY, R. J., HINCHCLIFF, K. W., DISILVESTRO, R. A., REINHART, G. A., BASKIN, C. R., HAYEK, M. G., BURR, J. R. & SWENSON, R. A. (2000) Effect of dietary supplements containing antioxidants on attenuation of muscle damage in exercising sled dogs. Am J Vet Res 61, 1438-1445. PubMed ID 11108194

PIERCY, R. J., SWARDSON, C. J. & HINCHCLIFF, K. W. (1998) Erythroid hypoplasia and anemia following administration of recombinant human erythropoietin to two horses. J Am Vet Med Assoc 212, 244-247. PubMed ID 9448829

LA PERLE, K. M., PIERCY, R. J., LONG, J. F. & BLOMME, E. A. (1998) Multisystemic, eosinophilic, epitheliotropic disease with intestinal lymphosarcoma in a horse. Vet Pathol 35, 144-146. PubMed ID 9539369

Richard’s teaching interests include the subjects of muscle physiology and exercise physiology particularly comparative aspects between species. He teaches vet students neurology in the clinical parts of the course and in the clinic.

Richard runs the Comparative Neuromuscular Diseases Laboratory which receives diagnostic neuromuscular samples sent in by vets across Europe from pets with neuromuscular conditions. In the clinical hospital, Richard consults on equine neuromuscular diseases, including exertional rhabdomyolysis (tying up), gait abnormalities, spinal ataxia (Wobbler syndrome), seizures and other neurological and muscular problems of horses.

• Integrating genetics with functional genomics to dissect the aetiopathogenesis of equine exertional rhabdomyolysis

  

  Equine exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is a syndrome involving painful, exercise induced episodes of muscle stiffness and acute myonecrosis which can result in renal failure and in severe cases, death.

  ---