Eric J. Huang, MD, PhD, a renowned physician-scientist specializing in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, has been named the Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His appointment begins Jan. 1.
Huang comes to WashU Medicine from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he is a professor and vice chair of research for the Department of Pathology. His appointment was announced by David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.
“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Huang, an exceptionally talented physician-scientist, join our leadership team and the WashU Medicine community,” Perlmutter said. “With his leadership and expertise, we see enormous potential to advance the clinical practice and science in anatomic pathology, laboratory medicine and immunology with revolutions in imaging technologies and by applying artificial intelligence and the precision medicine paradigm to our efforts, which altogether will enhance our long-standing legacy as one of the most – if not the most – accomplished faculties in pathological and immunological sciences.”
Trained as a developmental biologist, Huang has made seminal discoveries in unraveling the complexities of human brain development. His laboratory focuses on understanding the processes involved in how the brain develops in utero and in infancy. In recent studies, he has identified how the human brain continuously produces specialized cells – GABAergic interneurons – during the prenatal period and then incorporates them into brain networks during infancy. His studies also have revealed how blood vessel cells develop in the prenatal human brain and how misguided immune cells increase the risk of brain hemorrhage in premature infants, helping to pave the way for future therapeutics to stop brain bleeds in preterm infants.