Douglas Feinstein

Doug is a Research Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Doug earned his Bachelor’s degree from MIT, his PhD from Johns Hopkins University, and then carried out post-doctoral training at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego.

He gained further experience in laboratories in Sweden, Switzerland, and France before moving back to the US to become an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Cornell University Medical College in New York. In 1999, he moved to UIC in Chicago where he is now Full Professor. His work has centered around novel approaches to reduce damage and inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases, working primarily in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

His work has been funded by the NIH, the VA, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Alzheimer’s Assocation, as well as by several pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sanofi Aventis. He became involved with Cures Within Reach almost 10 years ago (as Partnership for Cures), at which time he received two grants to carry out repurposing studies of a drug to treat AD, and one to treat MS. The latter provided data that enabled him to obtain a large research grant from the NMSS. He also initiated repurposing of Actos, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, for protection in MS, which led to a clinical trial.