Robert Pignolo MD, PhD

Robert Pignolo, MD, PhD is the Robert and Arlene Kogod Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Chair of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Dr. Pignolo has worked on basic science, translational, and clinical aspects of bone diseases, including FOP and non-hereditary forms of heterotopic ossification (HO), for over 20 years – first at the University of Pennsylvania in the Center for Research on FOP & Related Disorders in Philadelphia, and now at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Major research areas related to FOP include rare bone disorders, natural history of FOP, drug discovery, non-hereditary HO, and repurposing of drugs for the treatment of FOP and similar conditions.

Dr. Pignolo is currently the principal investigator on all interventional trials for FOP at the Mayo Clinic. He is actively involved in the FOP community worldwide and is currently president of the International Clinic Council on FOP, established in 2017 to help consolidate a global voice for the best practices for clinical care and clinical research for people who suffer from FOP. Outside of FOP-related activities, his research focuses on basic, translational, and clinical aspects of conditions of aging and musculoskeletal disorders, with a focus on cellular senescence and accelerated tissue aging and disease.