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Robert Bowser, PhD, is Chief Scientific Officer, the John P. and Betty Van Denburgh Chair in Neuromuscular Disease, and professor and Chair of the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Bowser is an internationally recognized leader in ALS research, contributing pioneering efforts to discover and validate biomarkers for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. These biomarkers have been instrumental as diagnostic biomarkers of disease and predictors of disease progression. They are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of drug treatments in clinical trials. Additional research in the Bowser Laboratory includes exploring the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, developing new technologies for the delivery of drugs into the central nervous system, and defining the spatial expression of genes relative to neuropathology within human tissue samples. Dr. Bowser is the founder of two biotechnology companies and owner of multiple patents around his scientific discoveries.
As deputy chief scientific officer of Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Bowser oversees all research efforts and defines research directions for the institution. Dr. Bowser is also the co-director of a national biorepository of biofluid samples from ALS patients and of a national ALS post-mortem tissue bank. These biofluid and tissue samples linked to clinical information are a critical resource in our search for the cure and used in research efforts throughout the world. Dr. Bowser participates in many clinical research studies and clinical trials to translate research findings from the bench to patients. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Sheila Essey Award, which is the highest international award for ALS research.
Dr. Bowser obtained his undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and PhD from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He completed fellowship training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from 1994 to 2011, rising through the ranks to full professor. He joined the faculty at Barrow in 2011.
Dr. Bowser’s research efforts are currently funded by many granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, Target ALS, and the ALS Association (ALSA).
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1992-1994
- PhD, Yale University, 1992
- BS, Carnegie Mellon University, 1987
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Society for Investigative Pathology
- American Association of Neuropathologists
- New York Academy of Sciences
- ALS Research Group
- International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases
- The Royal Society of Medicine
- Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2020
- IBM Big Data and Analytics Hero, 2016
- Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research, 2015
- NEALS NeuroBank Pioneer Award, 2015
- Arizona Innovation Challenge Award, 2015
- John and Betty VenDenburgh Chair of Neuromuscular Disease, 2012
- Scientific Advisory Board, Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Consortium, 2011
- Guest Editor, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2010
- Science Council, Association Francaise contre les Myopathies, 2009 – 2011
- ALS Association “Walk to D’Feet ALS” Service Award, 2008
- University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award, 2008
- University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award, 2006
- Pittsburgh Magazine “40 under 40” Award for young people shaping the region, 2005
- ALS Association Lou Gehrig’s Challenge Award, 2004
- University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award, 2003
- ALS Association Public Service Award, 2002
Biomarker Qualification for Neurofilament Light Chain in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Theory and Practice
Date: 12/2023
Authors: Michael Benatar, Lyle W. Ostrow, Joseph W. Lewcock, Frank Bennett, Jeremy Shefner, Robert Bowser, Paul Larkin, Lucie Bruijn, Joanne Wuu
Effect of sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol on plasma concentrations of neuroinflammatory biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: results from the CENTAUR trial
Date: 12/2023
Authors: Robert Bowser, Jiyan An, Lahar Mehta, Junliang Chen, Jamie Timmons, Merit Cudkowicz, Sabrina Paganoni
Proteomics and mathematical modeling of longitudinal CSF differentiates fast versus slow ALS progression
Date: 11/2023
Authors: Lucas Vu, Krystine Garcia-Mansfield, Antonio Pompeiano, Jiyan An, Victoria David-Dirgo, Ritin Sharma, Vinisha Venugopal, Harkeerat Halait, Guido Marcucci, Ya-Huei Kuo, Lisa Uechi, Russell C. Rockne, Patrick Pirrotte, Robert Bowser
Traumatic brain injury induces TDP-43 mislocalization and neurodegenerative effects in tissue distal to the primary injury site in a non-transgenic mouse
Date: 08/2023
Authors: George R. Bjorklund, Jennifer Wong, David Brafman, Robert Bowser, Sarah E. Stabenfeldt
ALSUntangled #70: caffeine
Date: 06/2023
Authors: Jessica Hatch, Paul Barkhaus, Benjamin Barnes, Morgan Beauchamp, Michael Benatar, Tulio Bertorini, Robert Bowser, Mark Bromberg, Andrew Brown, Javier Mascias Cadavid, Gregory T. Carter, Nicholas Cole, Andrew J. Cole, Tyler S. Cole, Jesse Crayle, Mazen Dimachkie, David Ennist, Eva Feldman, Timothy Fullam, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Sartaj Jhooty, Todd Levine, Xiaoyan Li, Isaac Lund, Elise Mallon, Nicholas Maragakis, Christopher McDermott, Gary Pattee, Kaitlyn Pierce, Dylan Ratner, Kim Staats, Paul Wicks, Martina Wiedau, Richard Bedlack
- English
Robert Bowser, PhD, is Chief Scientific Officer, the John P. and Betty Van Denburgh Chair in Neuromuscular Disease, and professor and Chair of the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Bowser is an internationally recognized leader in ALS research, contributing pioneering efforts to discover and validate biomarkers for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. These biomarkers have been instrumental as diagnostic biomarkers of disease and predictors of disease progression. They are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of drug treatments in clinical trials. Additional research in the Bowser Laboratory includes exploring the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, developing new technologies for the delivery of drugs into the central nervous system, and defining the spatial expression of genes relative to neuropathology within human tissue samples. Dr. Bowser is the founder of two biotechnology companies and owner of multiple patents around his scientific discoveries.
As deputy chief scientific officer of Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Bowser oversees all research efforts and defines research directions for the institution. Dr. Bowser is also the co-director of a national biorepository of biofluid samples from ALS patients and of a national ALS post-mortem tissue bank. These biofluid and tissue samples linked to clinical information are a critical resource in our search for the cure and used in research efforts throughout the world. Dr. Bowser participates in many clinical research studies and clinical trials to translate research findings from the bench to patients. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Sheila Essey Award, which is the highest international award for ALS research.
Dr. Bowser obtained his undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and PhD from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He completed fellowship training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from 1994 to 2011, rising through the ranks to full professor. He joined the faculty at Barrow in 2011.
Dr. Bowser’s research efforts are currently funded by many granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, Target ALS, and the ALS Association (ALSA).
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1992-1994
- PhD, Yale University, 1992
- BS, Carnegie Mellon University, 1987
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Society for Investigative Pathology
- American Association of Neuropathologists
- New York Academy of Sciences
- ALS Research Group
- International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases
- The Royal Society of Medicine
- Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2020
- IBM Big Data and Analytics Hero, 2016
- Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research, 2015
- NEALS NeuroBank Pioneer Award, 2015
- Arizona Innovation Challenge Award, 2015
- John and Betty VenDenburgh Chair of Neuromuscular Disease, 2012
- Scientific Advisory Board, Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Consortium, 2011
- Guest Editor, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2010
- Science Council, Association Francaise contre les Myopathies, 2009 – 2011
- ALS Association “Walk to D’Feet ALS” Service Award, 2008
- University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award, 2008
- University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award, 2006
- Pittsburgh Magazine “40 under 40” Award for young people shaping the region, 2005
- ALS Association Lou Gehrig’s Challenge Award, 2004
- University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award, 2003
- ALS Association Public Service Award, 2002
Biomarker Qualification for Neurofilament Light Chain in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Theory and Practice
Date: 12/2023
Authors: Michael Benatar, Lyle W. Ostrow, Joseph W. Lewcock, Frank Bennett, Jeremy Shefner, Robert Bowser, Paul Larkin, Lucie Bruijn, Joanne Wuu
Effect of sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol on plasma concentrations of neuroinflammatory biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: results from the CENTAUR trial
Date: 12/2023
Authors: Robert Bowser, Jiyan An, Lahar Mehta, Junliang Chen, Jamie Timmons, Merit Cudkowicz, Sabrina Paganoni
Proteomics and mathematical modeling of longitudinal CSF differentiates fast versus slow ALS progression
Date: 11/2023
Authors: Lucas Vu, Krystine Garcia-Mansfield, Antonio Pompeiano, Jiyan An, Victoria David-Dirgo, Ritin Sharma, Vinisha Venugopal, Harkeerat Halait, Guido Marcucci, Ya-Huei Kuo, Lisa Uechi, Russell C. Rockne, Patrick Pirrotte, Robert Bowser
Traumatic brain injury induces TDP-43 mislocalization and neurodegenerative effects in tissue distal to the primary injury site in a non-transgenic mouse
Date: 08/2023
Authors: George R. Bjorklund, Jennifer Wong, David Brafman, Robert Bowser, Sarah E. Stabenfeldt
ALSUntangled #70: caffeine
Date: 06/2023
Authors: Jessica Hatch, Paul Barkhaus, Benjamin Barnes, Morgan Beauchamp, Michael Benatar, Tulio Bertorini, Robert Bowser, Mark Bromberg, Andrew Brown, Javier Mascias Cadavid, Gregory T. Carter, Nicholas Cole, Andrew J. Cole, Tyler S. Cole, Jesse Crayle, Mazen Dimachkie, David Ennist, Eva Feldman, Timothy Fullam, Terry Heiman-Patterson, Sartaj Jhooty, Todd Levine, Xiaoyan Li, Isaac Lund, Elise Mallon, Nicholas Maragakis, Christopher McDermott, Gary Pattee, Kaitlyn Pierce, Dylan Ratner, Kim Staats, Paul Wicks, Martina Wiedau, Richard Bedlack
- English