Translational Medicine

UCSD is one of the leading research institutions in the United States. The programs in neurosciences at UCSD and in the La Jolla biomedical and biotechnology community are top-rated in the world. Translating promising findings from basic bench research to the discovery of new therapies for neurological disease is a central goal of the Department and the UCSD School of Medicine.

The Department faculty includes a number of physician-scientists who are innovators and developers of translational research. These include Jody Corey-Bloom, MD, PhD (multiple sclerosis), Ronald J. Ellis, MD, PhD (NeuroAIDS), Douglas R. Galasko, MD (diagnostic markers of CNS disease), Joseph G. Gleeson, MD (developmental abnormalities), Richard R. Haas, MD (mitochondrial disorders), Vicente J. Iragui-Madoz, MD, PhD (epilepsy), Edward H. Koo, MD, PhD (Alzheimer's disease), Anders Dale, PhD (neuroimaging), Evelyn S. Tecoma, MD, PhD (epilepsy), Doris A. Trauner, MD (early brain injury), Mark H. Tuszynski, MD, PhD (gene therapy in Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury), and Patrick D. Lyden, MD (stroke).

These researchers have directly contributed to the development of now-approved therapies for neurological disease, including rt-PA for stroke, neuroprotective therapies for Parkinson’s disease, cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease, and vagal nerve stimulation for epilepsy. Therapies currently undergoing translational trials include anti-inflammatory drugs for Alzheimer’s disease; growth factor gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS; and cannabinoids for spasticity.

UCSD Neurosciences has a rich history and vigorous program in translational research, a field in which the Department maintains an international reputation as a leader.