Huda Yahya Zoghbi, M.D.

2020 The Brain Prize
2017 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
2017 Canada Gairdner International Award

Dr. Zoghbi is a professor of pediatrics, molecular and human genetics, neuroscience, and neurology at Baylor College of Medicine and is director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Zoghbi seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying brain development and degeneration.

Working primarily in mouse models and humans, Dr. Zoghbi and her team study the activities of proteins involved in neuropsychiatric disorders such as Rett syndrome, MECP2 duplication syndrome, and mania. They also collaborate with labs studying Drosophila to study the function of proteins that accumulate in late-onset degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and inherited movement disorders such as Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1).

The team’s goal is to find ways to reduce abnormal accumulation of proteins in degenerative conditions and normalize protein levels in developmental diseases.