Newswise — La Jolla, Calif., November 22, 2016 - Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) has announced that Huaxi Xu, Ph.D., has been named the Jeanne and Gary Herberger Leadership Chair in Neuroscience at the institute.
“The need to better understand the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases and the different patient types is urgent,” said Jeanne Herberger. “As our population ages, these diseases are affecting more people. We are enthusiastic to support Dr. Xu’s recent breakthroughs including the discovery of a novel protein that may offer a potential approach for treating Alzheimer’s disease. By endowing the Jeanne and Gary Herberger Leadership Chair in Neuroscience at SBP, we hope to see Dr. Xu’s important research progress to have an impact on human health.”
Dr. Xu is an expert in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease, and has been a professor in the Institute’s Degenerative Diseases program since 2003. He served as Neurodegenerative Disease Research program director at SBP from 2007-2012.
"It is my goal to help build a strong internationally-recognized neuroscience research effort within the Institute to uncover the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Xu said. “I wish to integrate the strengths, collaborative spirit and wide-ranging technological capabilities at SBP to evolve our capacity to bring basic knowledge from the bench to finding a cure. In doing so, we will gain significant ground towards a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related neurological disorders."
Dr. Xu has published more than 120 papers, currently has four active NIH R01 grants, and was awarded grants from the Alzheimer’s Association and the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. He founded the well-respected neuroscience journal “Molecular Neurodegeneration”.
Huaxi Xu received his Ph.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and was at the Rockefeller University before joining SBP.
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About SBPSanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) is an independent nonprofit medical research organization that conducts world-class, collaborative, biological research and translates its discoveries for the benefit of patients. SBP focuses its research on cancer, immunity, neurodegeneration, metabolic disorders and rare children’s diseases. The Institute invests in talent, technology and partnerships to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries that will have the greatest impact on patients. Recognized for its world-class NCI-designated Cancer Center and the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, SBP employs about 1,100 scientists and staff in San Diego (La Jolla), Calif., and Orlando (Lake Nona), Fla. For more information, visit us at SBPdiscovery.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SBPdiscovery and on Twitter @SBPdiscovery.