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Robert Bowser, PhD
Chairman, Neurobiology
Professor, Neurology and Neurobiology
Robert Bowser, PhD, is the John and Betty Van Denburgh Chair of 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
The M1311V variant of ATP7A is associated with impaired trafficking and copper homeostasis in models of motor neuron disease
Date: 02/2021
Authors: Nadine Bakkar, Alexander Starr, Benjamin E. Rabichow, Ileana Lorenzini, Zachary T. McEachin, Robert Kraft, Matthew Chaung, Sam Macklin-Isquierdo, Taylor Wingfield, Briggs Carhart, Nathan Zahler, Wen Hsuan Chang, Gary J. Bassell, Alexandre Betourne, Nicholas Boulis, Samuel V. Alworth, Justin K. Ichida, Paul R. August, Daniela C. Zarnescu, Rita Sattler, Robert Bowser
Generation of two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from an ALS patient with simultaneous mutations in KIF5A and MATR3 genes
Date: 01/2021
Authors: David X. Medina, Ashley Boehringer, Marissa Dominick, Ileana Lorenzini, Sara Saez-Atienzar, Erik P. Pioro, Rita Sattler, Bryan Traynor, Robert Bowser
Identification of a pathogenic intronic KIF5A mutation in an ALS-FTD kindred
Date: 12/2020
Authors: Sara Saez-Atienzar, Clifton L. Dalgard, Jinhui Ding, Adriano Chiò, Camile Alba, Dan N. Hupalo, Matthew D. Wilkerson, Robert Bowser, Erik P. Pioro, Richard Bedlack, Bryan J. Traynor
Pathogenic Huntingtin Repeat Expansions in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Date: 11/2020
Authors: Ramita Dewan, Ruth Chia, Jinhui Ding, Richard A Hickman, Thor D Stein, Yevgeniya Abramzon, Sarah Ahmed, Marya S Sabir, Makayla K Portley, Arianna Tucci, Kristina Ibáñez, F N U Shankaracharya, Pamela Keagle, Giacomina Rossi, Paola Caroppo, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Maria L Waldo, Per M Johansson, Christer F Nilsson, James B Rowe, Luisa Benussi, Giuliano Binetti, Roberta Ghidoni, Edwin Jabbari, Coralie Viollet, Jonathan D Glass, Andrew B Singleton, Vincenzo Silani, Owen A Ross, Mina Ryten, Ali Torkamani, Toshiko Tanaka, Luigi Ferrucci, Susan M Resnick, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Christopher B Brady, Neil Kowal, John A Hardy, Vivianna Van Deerlin, Jean Paul Vonsattel, Matthew B Harms, Huw R Morris, Raffaele Ferrari, John E Landers, Adriano Chiò, J Raphael Gibbs, Clifton L Dalgard, Sonja W Scholz, Bryan J Traynor, Robert Bowser
Truncated stathmin-2 is a marker of TDP-43 pathology in frontotemporal dementia.
Date: 11/2020
Authors: Mercedes Prudencio, Jack Humphrey, Sarah Pickles, Anna-Leigh Brown, Sarah E Hill, Jennifer M Kachergus, J Shi, Michael G Heckman, Matthew R Spiegel, Casey Cook, Yuping Song, Mei Yue, Lillian M Daughrity, Yari Carlomagno, Karen Jansen-West, Cristhoper Fernandez de Castro, Michael DeTure, Shunsuke Koga, Ying-Chih Wang, Prasanth Sivakumar, Cristian Bodo, Ana Candalija, Kevin Talbot, Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj, Karen Burr, Siddharthan Chandran, Jia Newcombe, Tammaryn Lashley, Isabel Hubbard, Demetra Catalano, Duyang Kim, Nadia Propp, Samantha Fennessey, Delphine Fagegaltier, Hemali Phatnani, Maria Secrier, Elizabeth Mc Fisher, Björn Oskarsson, Marka van Blitterswijk, Rosa Rademakers, Neil R Graff-Radford, Bradley F Boeve, David S Knopman, Ronald C Petersen, Keith A Josephs, E Aubrey Thompson, Towfique Raj, Michael Ward, Dennis W Dickson, Tania F Gendron, Pietro Fratta, Leonard Petrucelli, Robert Bowser
- English
Robert Bowser, PhD
Chairman, Neurobiology
Professor, Neurology and Neurobiology
Robert Bowser, PhD, is the John and Betty Van Denburgh Chair of 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
The M1311V variant of ATP7A is associated with impaired trafficking and copper homeostasis in models of motor neuron disease
Date: 02/2021
Authors: Nadine Bakkar, Alexander Starr, Benjamin E. Rabichow, Ileana Lorenzini, Zachary T. McEachin, Robert Kraft, Matthew Chaung, Sam Macklin-Isquierdo, Taylor Wingfield, Briggs Carhart, Nathan Zahler, Wen Hsuan Chang, Gary J. Bassell, Alexandre Betourne, Nicholas Boulis, Samuel V. Alworth, Justin K. Ichida, Paul R. August, Daniela C. Zarnescu, Rita Sattler, Robert Bowser
Generation of two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from an ALS patient with simultaneous mutations in KIF5A and MATR3 genes
Date: 01/2021
Authors: David X. Medina, Ashley Boehringer, Marissa Dominick, Ileana Lorenzini, Sara Saez-Atienzar, Erik P. Pioro, Rita Sattler, Bryan Traynor, Robert Bowser
Identification of a pathogenic intronic KIF5A mutation in an ALS-FTD kindred
Date: 12/2020
Authors: Sara Saez-Atienzar, Clifton L. Dalgard, Jinhui Ding, Adriano Chiò, Camile Alba, Dan N. Hupalo, Matthew D. Wilkerson, Robert Bowser, Erik P. Pioro, Richard Bedlack, Bryan J. Traynor
Pathogenic Huntingtin Repeat Expansions in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Date: 11/2020
Authors: Ramita Dewan, Ruth Chia, Jinhui Ding, Richard A Hickman, Thor D Stein, Yevgeniya Abramzon, Sarah Ahmed, Marya S Sabir, Makayla K Portley, Arianna Tucci, Kristina Ibáñez, F N U Shankaracharya, Pamela Keagle, Giacomina Rossi, Paola Caroppo, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Maria L Waldo, Per M Johansson, Christer F Nilsson, James B Rowe, Luisa Benussi, Giuliano Binetti, Roberta Ghidoni, Edwin Jabbari, Coralie Viollet, Jonathan D Glass, Andrew B Singleton, Vincenzo Silani, Owen A Ross, Mina Ryten, Ali Torkamani, Toshiko Tanaka, Luigi Ferrucci, Susan M Resnick, Stuart Pickering-Brown, Christopher B Brady, Neil Kowal, John A Hardy, Vivianna Van Deerlin, Jean Paul Vonsattel, Matthew B Harms, Huw R Morris, Raffaele Ferrari, John E Landers, Adriano Chiò, J Raphael Gibbs, Clifton L Dalgard, Sonja W Scholz, Bryan J Traynor, Robert Bowser
Truncated stathmin-2 is a marker of TDP-43 pathology in frontotemporal dementia.
Date: 11/2020
Authors: Mercedes Prudencio, Jack Humphrey, Sarah Pickles, Anna-Leigh Brown, Sarah E Hill, Jennifer M Kachergus, J Shi, Michael G Heckman, Matthew R Spiegel, Casey Cook, Yuping Song, Mei Yue, Lillian M Daughrity, Yari Carlomagno, Karen Jansen-West, Cristhoper Fernandez de Castro, Michael DeTure, Shunsuke Koga, Ying-Chih Wang, Prasanth Sivakumar, Cristian Bodo, Ana Candalija, Kevin Talbot, Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj, Karen Burr, Siddharthan Chandran, Jia Newcombe, Tammaryn Lashley, Isabel Hubbard, Demetra Catalano, Duyang Kim, Nadia Propp, Samantha Fennessey, Delphine Fagegaltier, Hemali Phatnani, Maria Secrier, Elizabeth Mc Fisher, Björn Oskarsson, Marka van Blitterswijk, Rosa Rademakers, Neil R Graff-Radford, Bradley F Boeve, David S Knopman, Ronald C Petersen, Keith A Josephs, E Aubrey Thompson, Towfique Raj, Michael Ward, Dennis W Dickson, Tania F Gendron, Pietro Fratta, Leonard Petrucelli, Robert Bowser
- English