Dr. Erik Roberson is a physician-scientist whose research has reshaped how the field understands and treats Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He earned his A.B. with highest honors from Princeton University. At Baylor College of Medicine, he entered the Medical Scientist Training Program to complete his Doctor of Philosophy in neuroscience and Doctor of Medicine with high honors. He completed his residency and chief residency in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by a clinical fellowship in behavioral neurology and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease. In 2008, Dr. Roberson joined the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 2008, where he holds the Rebecca Gale–Heersink Endowed Chair.
His groundbreaking study, published in 2007 in Science, showed that lowering levels of tau, a protein that accumulates abnormally in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, could protect against the damage caused by the disease. The discovery helped launch an entirely new area of Alzheimer’s drug development, with therapies based on his research now advancing through late-stage clinical trials. His laboratory has also helped pioneer treatments for FTD, demonstrating the promise of gene therapies that restore progranulin, a protein whose loss can cause the disease. By targeting an underlying driver of neurodegeneration, this approach aims to slow or prevent the progressive loss of thinking, language, and behavioral abilities that FTD can cause. His team’s work helped pave the way for multiple human clinical trials evaluating these potential therapies.
Over his career, Dr. Roberson has secured more than $31 million in direct-cost research funding as principal investigator. He has published over 320 peer-reviewed articles and two books, including the “Essentials of Modern Neuroscience” textbook.
At UAB, Dr. Roberson directs the National Institute on Aging-funded UAB Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, leads the Killion Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, and serves as vice chair for Basic and Translational Research in the Department of Neurology. He also directs the UAB Training Program in Neurodegeneration, leads clinical trials and cares for patients at the UAB Brain Aging and Memory Clinic and on the inpatient Neurology services.
His commitment to the next generation of scientists is reflected in how he has mentored 19 graduate students (15 of whom have graduated and four of whom remain in training), seven postdoctoral fellows (five of whom have graduated and two of whom remain in training, and five trainees who have already gone on to independent faculty positions. Dr. Roberson is also a recipient of the UAB Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship.
Dr. Roberson is a winner of the American Neurological Association’s most prestigious award, the Derek Denny-Brown Neurological Scholar Award, which recognizes early-career neurologists and neuroscientists for exceptional research advances in neurological disease. He is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
