Biogen announce appointment of Dominic Walsh as VP, and first head of the Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia Research Unit (ADRU)
Since 1992, his extensive work in Alzheimer’s disease research demonstrates the strategic vision, innovative thinking and tireless determination that made him a standout candidate for this role. For the last 15 years, Dominic has led the Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Research, which he originally established at University College Dublin in 2003 and moved to the Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston in 2011. Today, he is ranked among the top 1% of researchers in the field of Neuroscience and Behavior and in 2014, he was named one of the world’s most influential scientific minds by Thomson Reuters.
Dominic has been at the forefront of studies on the role of soluble Aβ oligomers in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and has authored several defining papers on the subject. His group has also pioneered on truncated forms of tau and their relevance to disease and normal physiology. In fact, as a testament to the impact and momentum of his work, 20 of Dominic’s publications have each been cited in excess of 200 times and more than 40 have been published in the last five years alone. His ultimate goal has been to grow scientific understanding to enable the development of rationally designed drugs that will slow or halt disease. By all accounts, he is on pace to accomplish exactly that – and Biogen is where he feels he can make the biggest difference for those with AD.
Biogen aims to be a leader in the field of neurodegeneration, and in particular Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Tenacious, innovative and visionary leadership in the ADRU will be a galvanizing factor in our overall R&D transformation. As VP, ADRU, Dominic will represent a single point of accountability for Research and Early Clinical Development. He will define and execute the strategy and portfolio for AD, champion it to all levels of the organization and ensure that resources are aligned with the strategy for AD. Ultimately, the goals of our transformation and the goals Dominic has pursued over his two-plus decades in Alzheimer’s research are in synergy.
Dominic will be joining Biogen on September 1. He chose Biogen because the people and approach to science are unequalled. Together, we will deliver innovative drug candidates from novel target discovery to proof-of-concept trials. And then, for the millions of patients who are robbed of their past by Alzheimer’s, we will write a new future. That future begins now.