Ramon Diaz-Arrastia is an American

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

and

clinical investigator A clinical investigator involved in a clinical trial is responsible for ensuring that an investigation is conducted according to the signed investigator statement, the investigational plan, and applicable regulations; for protecting the rights, safe ...

. He is the John McCrae Dickson, MD Presidential Professor of

Neurology Neurology (from , "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 conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and Attending Neurologist at the

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. History The hospital was founded at its current location in 1874 by the Universi ...

and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Diaz-Arrastia's research is focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in neuronal injury and

neurodegeneration A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their cell death, death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sc ...

. He is a Zenith Fellow of the

Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association is a nonprofit voluntary health organization that focuses on Alzheimer's disease care, support and research. History Jerome H. Stone founded the Alzheimer's Association with the help of several family support groups ...

Education

In 1979, Diaz-Arrastia received a Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

in Houston, Texas. He went on to earn a PhD in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from the

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

in 1986, followed by a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from the same institution in 1988.

Career

Diaz-Arrastia began his academic career in 1993 by joining the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...

in Dallas, where he held various academic appointments, including assistant professor,

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

, and professor in the Department of Neurology. He worked at UT Southwestern until 2011, when he joined Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. In 2016, he left Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences to join University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine as Presidential Professor of Neurology. As of July 2016, he has been holding concurrent appointments as an attending neurologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Research

Diaz-Arrastia's early research work focuses on the role of traumatic cerebral vascular injury (TCVI) in the development of functional deficits and chronic disability following traumatic brain injury. His group showed that phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibition reverses part of the deficit in cerebrovascular reactivity after TBI, and constitutes a promising therapy for traumatic cerebrovascular injury. Diaz-Arrastia's research on post-traumatic epilepsy explored the prevalence, risk factors, clinical features, and management options of epilepsy that arise as a result of a traumatic brain injury. His research on surgical outcomes in Post-Traumatic Epilepsy revealed that surgery could be a viable option for reducing seizure frequency or severity, even in cases where other treatments have been unsuccessful. In his exploration of new ways to diagnose mild traumatic brain injuries by testing for certain proteins in both the blood and small particles released by brain cells, also known as extracellular vesicles, his work revealed that these two sources of protein information i.e. (plasma and brain-derived extracellular vesicles) provide independent diagnostic information and when combined, accurately diagnose mild traumatic brain injuries.

Awards and honors

*2006 – Zenith Fellow, Alzheimer's Association *2008 – Distinguished Alumnus Award, Baylor College of Medicine

Selected articles

* * * *

References

External links

American neurologists Rice University alumni Baylor College of Medicine alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon Year of birth missing (living people) Living people