Gelbard Named Director of Center for Neural Development and Disease

Harris A. Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology, has been named director of the Center for Neural Development and Disease at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The center, which brings together a broad array of physicians and scientists, targets a complex system rather than a single disease. Center researchers investigate stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, nerve injuries, HIV-1 associated neurologic disorders, Alzheimer’s and other diseases with the goal of creating treatments and therapies.

“We think it is most crucial to understand the development of the nervous system — how it is put together — so we can better understand how diseases of the brain and peripheral nervous system take away function,” said Gelbard. “This kind of understanding is what translates into treatments and better care.”

Neuromedicine is one of the signature programs of the Medical Center’s 2007-2012 strategic plan. Diseases of the brain and nervous system take many lives, cause great pain and suffering and cost billions of dollars annually. The strategic plan aims to build on the Medical Center’s already strong position as a world leader in the prevention and treatment of these diseases. The work of the Center for Neural Development and Disease is directly linked to this goal. In the future, Gelbard expects the center to increase its focus on genetics and regenerative medicine. Three new investigators could be added in the next two years to the center.

Gelbard, who came to the Medical Center as a postdoctoral fellow in 1989 and joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology in 1990, is an internationally recognized expert in HIV-related dementia. Click here for more information on Gelbard’s appointment, and Center faculty.