FPN Welcomes New Scientific Advisor, Dr. Steven Scherer

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy is pleased to welcome Dr. Steven Scherer to the Scientific Advisory Board.

About Dr. Steven Scherer, MD, PhD

Steven S. Scherer is the Ruth Wagner Van Meter and J. Ray Van Meter Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. (1977), as well as his M.D. and Ph.D. (1985) from the University of Michigan. His Ph.D. advisor was Dr. Stephen S. Easter. He did an internship in internal medicine (1985-86), and a residency in neurology (1986-1989) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Charles A. Dana fellow at the University of Pennsylvania from 1989-1991, in the laboratory of Dr. John Kamholz. His interest in peripheral nerve began with his Ph.D. thesis, and brought him to Penn’s Department of Neurology, which has a distinguished history in this area. In 1993, he collaborated with Dr. Kurt Fischbeck, then a colleague at Penn, in the discovery that mutations in the gene that encodes the gap junction protein connexin32 cause the X-linked form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). Thus began one of the main lines of research in his laboratory – elucidating why gap junctions are required components of PNS and glia.

The diagnosis and treatment of peripheral neuropathies is Dr. Scherer’s clinical interest. He is a member of the GBS/CIDP Center of Excellence and the CMT Center of Excellence at Penn. He is particularly involved with people who have Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and is part of on ongoing effort to identify new genetic causes and to determine the relationships between the genotypes and phenotypes of these patients. Dr. Scherer wrote and maintains the information for clinicians on the Inherited Neuropathies Consortium, which is one component of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. Scherer has served various roles for the Peripheral Nerve Society, an international organization of physicians and scientists devoted to peripheral nerve and their diseases, and is currently the past president. He serves on the medical board and the scientific advisory board of the CMT Association. He has served on NIH Study Sections and has taught/mentored undergraduates, medical and graduate students, residents, fellows, and faculty. He has an author on more than 170 original research papers and 69 reviews and was the first awardee of the Alan J. Gebhart – Peripheral Nerve Society Prize for Excellence in Peripheral Nerve Research in 2015.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Scherer to the Foundation’s scientific team!

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