MICHAEL KRUER

Michael Kruer is a pediatric neurologist and molecular geneticist. He serves as an Associate Professor of Child Health, Genetics, Neurology and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix.  He also serves as director of the Pediatric Movement Disorders Program at the Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kruer’s early work was supported by an American Academy of Neurology clinical research fellowship, a K08 award from the NIH, a Doris Duke clinical scientist development award, and the receipt of the Shields award from the Child Neurology Foundation. Michael’s lab (www.kruerlab.org) is dedicated to understanding how genetic mutations lead to both common (cerebral palsy) and rare movement disorders in children and how genetics can serve as a springboard to improvements in both diagnosis and intervention. Work in his lab also focuses on basic mechanisms of health and disease, particularly the intersection of cellular metabolism (coenzyme A distribution) and stress-response pathways (autophagy and protein translation). Michael’s research has been supported by numerous public and private foundations, philanthropy, industry collaborations, and federal grants, and his work has appeared in highly respected publications including the American Journal of Human Genetics, Annals of Neurology, Brain, Pediatrics, Neurology and Nature Genetics.