PROFESSOR DAVID ROWITCH

Professor David Rowitch – Paediatrics and Neuro-development Theme Lead

David Rowitch FMedSci is a developmental neuroscientist, neonatologist and Professor and Head of Paediatrics at University of Cambridge. He obtained his MD from UCLA and PhD degree from University of Cambridge. Professor Rowitch is a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. His laboratory investigates genetic factors that determine development and diversity of glial cells of the brain and the response to injury. He has applied these principles to better understand white matter injury in premature infants, multiple sclerosis, brain cancer and leukodystrophy. As a practicing physician-scientist, he established the `Neuro-NICU’ and led a Phase I clinical study of neural stem cell transplant for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease. His interest in precision medicine focuses on applications of genomic technologies to diagnose and better understand the biological basis and rational treatment of rare neurological disorders. He is academic lead for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital in the East of England.

Paediatrics and Neuro-development Theme