Roger Reeves, PhD

Roger Reeves, PhD

Roger Reeves, PhD

Professor, Department of Physiology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dr. Roger Reeves is a Professor in the Department of Physiology and a Core Faculty Member of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Lab website, http://inertia.bs.jhmi.edu/

Reeves began working on gene expression in Down syndrome early in his career. Today he is considered one of the foremost experts in this field. Recent work includes human genetic studies to identify genetic modifiers that contribute to a more or less severe presentation of Down syndrome. His laboratory is studying a possible therapeutic approach for Down syndrome features.

Reeves recently demonstrated the basis for the reduced frequency of solid tumors in people with trisomy 21. He directs the Down Syndrome Cognition Project (DSCP), a multi-site effort to employ the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery (ACTB) in conjunction with genetic analysis to identify genetic contributors to variable cognitive ability in people with Down syndrome. The DSCP network and ACTB provide a structure to recruit volunteers and monitor effectiveness of drugs designed to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction specific to people who have trisomy 21.

Reeves earned his BS from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and his PhD at the University of Maryland, doing his thesis research at the National Cancer Institute.

Roger says of the LCI, “Translational research” refers to the application of basic research knowledge to the development of therapies. The former director of NIH, Elias Zerhouni, said of this challenge that ‘It’s hard to translate what we don’t understand.’ The marriage of basic and clinical research is the exciting vision of LCI and it is this approach that will give us the understanding to translate our knowledge into amelioration of features of Down syndrome.”