Visit the Center's Web site The William S. Smilow Center for Marfan Syndrome Research is a multidisciplinary group of biomedical investigators at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Established and maintained through the generosity of the Smilow family, the Center is dedicated to the improvement of medical care and the quality of life of individuals with Marfan syndrome through clinical and basic biomedical research. Marfan syndrome is a disorder of the body's connective tissue, the material between the cells that gives the tissues form and strength. Individuals with Marfan syndrome have a deficiency of the connective tissue protein fibrillin-1 because of a mutation in the fibrillin-1 gene, and commonly have abnormalities in the eye, heart and skeleton. The Smilow Center is directed by Harry Dietz, M.D. | 
