Erik Steven Musiek, MD, PhD
Photo: Erik S. Musiek

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Elected 2021

Dr. Musiek is a neurolgist-scientist focused on understanding novel mechanisms influencing neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. His lab studies how the circadian system regulates gene expression and function of different cells in the brain to influence the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. His group has shown that fragmentation of normal circadian rhythms can be detected before the onset of memory symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's Disease, and that disrupting the circadian system can accelerate Alzhiemer's-like pathology in mice. His work has demonstrated that the circadian clock can strongly regulate the funciton of glial cells in the brain and modulate neuroinflammation. His group is now developing novel therapeutics which target specific clock proteins to modulate glial activaiton and potentially prevent toxic protein aggretaion in Alzhiemer's and other neurodegenerative disease models. Dr. Musiek completed his MD/PhD training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, his residency in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, and his fellowhip in dementia at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently an Associate Professor of Neurology at WashU, and in addition to running his lab, attends in the Memory Diagnostic Clinic, is a member of the Knight Alzhiemer's Disease Resedarch Center, and is Co-Director of the Center On Behavioral Rhythms And Sleep (COBRAS).