Tetsuo Ashizawa, MD

Lead Investigator

Harriet and Joe B. Foster Distinguished Chair in Neurosciences, Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology
Professor of Neurology, Institute for Academic Medicine
Director, Neurosciences Research Program
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College

Tetsuo Ashizawa, MD, is a physician-scientist and organizes and develops interdisciplinary neuroscience research programs involving multiple colleges and departments at Houston Methodist. Formerly the executive director of the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida, he also chaired the neurology department at the University of Texas Medical Branch and at the University of Florida, where he supervised the clinical care of and research in a variety of neurological disorders. He studies neurogenetic disorders caused by expansions of DNA sequences that are connected end-to-end and abnormally repeated, such as myotonic dystrophies, spinocerebellar ataxias, Friedreich’s ataxia, and Huntington’s disease. Dr. Ashizawa will oversee the entire operation of this international study and chair the Steering Committee.