Daniel H. Geschwind is the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics,

Neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

and

Psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA). He also directs the UCLA Neurogenetics Program and the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART), and holds the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair of Human Genetics there. Since March 1, 2016, he has served as the Senior Associate Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Precision Medicine at UCLA. His brother, Michael Geschwind, is also a professor of neurology, and behavioral neurology pioneer Norman Geschwind is his father's first cousin.

Education and career

Geschwind received his A.B. degrees in psychology and chemistry at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, and his MD/PhD at

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

under the supervision of Susan Hockfield. He then completed an internship at UCLA, and has been a member of the UCLA faculty since 1997. Geschwind has served on several scientific advisory boards and review committees, including the Faculty of 1000 Medicine, the Executive Committee of the American Neurological Association, the Scientific Advisory Board for the

Allen Institute for Brain Science The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a division of the Allen Institute, based in Seattle, Washington, that focuses on bioscience research. Founded in 2003, it is dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how the human brain works. Wit ...

, the NIMH Advisory Council and the NIH Council of Councils, and served as the first chair of

Cure Autism Now Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, a ...

's scientific review committee. Geschwind has been elected as member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians. , Geschwind was the 25th highest-paid employee of the University of California system.

Research

The Geschwind Lab at the UCLA David Geffin School of Medicine conducts research into three areas:

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and language, human cognitive specializations, and neurodegenerative syndromes. He has published research examining the numerous genes involved in language, such as FOXP2, and how they differ between humans and chimpanzees. In 2011, Geschwind was senior author on a study which found that there are chemical differences between the brains of people with autism and the brains of people without it. Specifically, Geschwind et al. found that there were common patterns in the gene expression in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brains of the autistic people they studied. He is also known for his research into the factors affecting handedness in humans, and the differences in brain structure between left-handed and right-handed people.

Awards and prizes

* 2022 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the National Academy of Medicine * 2012 Ruane Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation * 2008 Scientific Service Award from Autism Speaks * 2004 Derek Denny-Brown Neurological Scholar Award from the American Neurological Association * Named in

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' ''2017 Highly Cited Researchers''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geschwind, Daniel H. American geneticists American neuroscientists Autism researchers Dartmouth College alumni Living people Members of the National Academy of Medicine David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA faculty Yale School of Medicine alumni Year of birth missing (living people)