SELF EXAM:

Occupation: Neurologist; Chairman, Department of Neurology & Neurological Science, Stanford University

Alternative career choice: Car dealer

What do rock stars and scienctists have in common: Passion!

Musical Instrument I Play: Keyboard / Rock Band

I tend to approach life: A dreamer and idealist, in love with my wife and kids. I grew up with a sister with cerebral palsy, a condition involving brain damage at birth that keeps her confined to a wheel chair. I still have not accepted that there will never be a treatment available that can allow her to walk.

Biggest misconceptions about me or my work: That its all about the latest technology when the most important part is the creativity, passion and attention to detail.

Worst part-time job ever: Its funny that even the jobs that should have been boring offered something that seemed like an adventure.

Longest med school study session: 18 hour study sessions; 36 hour on call rotations.

Best moment in medicine/research: Medicine: Sitting all alone at 3 AM in a dark hospital hallway in New York City helping a woman who had just lost her husband of 50 years. Research: Seeing one of the small molecules that we created reversing brain degeneration in aged mice.

ABOUT MY RESEARCH:

Disease Area: Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders for which there are no known effective therapies.

Research Area: We are focused on harnessing the potent processes that underlie the formation of the nervous system to prevent or treat neurological disorders.

Science Impact/Accomplishments or Goal: Remarkably, there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders. My research team and I have pioneered the discovery and development of small molecules that target and modulate the fundamental mechanisms controlling the survival of neurons and the maintenance and formation of their synaptic connections. These small molecules are serving as leads to develop new drugs. Quite unexpectedly, these novel compounds are proving to be effective in preclinical studies of a large range of disorders including Down's syndrome, Rett autistic syndrome, stroke, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis.

Research Description: Finding an effective drug for a disorder is quite literally like finding a needle in a haystack – a real large haystack. Our laboratory team and collaborators have developed a way of screening millions of compounds by computer simulation. Compounds that look promising are then tested on neurons grown in a laboratory incubator under special conditions to determine which have the greatest potency in preventing degeneration or promoting the formation of new synaptic connections. The best compounds are being moved toward human trials.