Rickie Patani is a physician scientist who splits his time between his lab at the Crick and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, where he is a Professor of Human Stem Cells and Regenerative Neurology. He is also a consultant neurologist at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH.
“I'm honoured to receive the Brain Sciences 2020 Young Investigator Award. Thanks to a group of talented scientists I have the privilege to work with in the Patani lab and some great collaborators. I look forward to a much brighter 2021 for us all.” Professor Rickie Patani "
Professor Patani added: "Personally diagnosing and caring for patients with these devastating disorders in my clinical capacity as a neurologist serves as a potent reminder of the desperate and unmet need to understand the underlying disease mechanisms through fundamental discovery science."
At the Crick, Rickie’s lab focuses on diseases of the nervous system, specifically motor neuron disease (ALS) and dementia. To understand these diseases, his lab uses human induced pluripotent stem cell models of neurodegeneration. With nearly 15 years of direct experience using patient-derived stem cell models, the ultimate aim of Rickie’s work is to benefit those living with untreatable neurological diseases.