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Prof Edward Wild
Professor of Neurology
Neurodegenerative Diseases
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
- Joined UCL
- 1st Oct 2005
Research summary
I am a Professor of Neurology at UCL, Associate Director of UCL Huntington's Disease Centre, and a Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. My research focuses on Huntington's disease, a fatal, autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease that usually begins in mid-adult life and produces cognitive, behavioural and motor decline.
No cure or disease-slowing treatment exists for HD, but uniquely among prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, Huntington's disease (HD) is fully penetrant and monogenic. This has enabled the development of many promising therapeutic options designed to target known pathogenic pathways in HD.
My team studies cerebrospinal fluid for the purpose of understanding the pathobiology of HD and the development of meaningful biomarkers to facilitate and empower clinical trials of new therapeutic agents.
Teaching summary
I lecture on the Institute of Neurology MSc Neuroscience and Dementia courses and the MRes course (I won the ION teaching award in 2014 and 2017, voted by students) and teach medical students at the bedside. I am an occasional teacher on the ION's MRCP PACES Neurology Course. I frequently teach groups of patients and family members about Huntington's disease research in the UK and overseas.
Education
- Royal College of Physicians
- Doctorate, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians | 2018
- Royal College of Physicians
- Doctorate, Member of the Royal College of Physicians | 2015
- University College London
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 2009
- Royal College of Physicians
- Doctorate, Member of the Royal College of Physicians | 2005
- University of Cambridge
- Doctorate, Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery | 2001
- University of Cambridge
- Other higher degree, Master of Arts | 1999
Biography
I graduated from Christ’s College, Cambridge University in 2001 and have worked in clinical neurology and Huntington’s disease (HD) research since 2005.
I have authored 7 book chapters and over 80 peer-reviewed publications.
I serve on the Medical Advisory Panel of the Huntington’s Disease Association, the Association of British Neurologists Neurogenetics Advisory Panel, and the Translational Neurology Panel of the European Academy of Neurology. I am Associate Editor of the Journal of Huntington’s Disease and advise the steering committee to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Huntington’s disease. I am the co-Lead Facilitator of the European Huntington’s Disease Network‘s Biomarkers Working Group.
I believe that scientists have a duty to make their work accessible and understandable to the people who need it most. In 2010, I co-founded HDBuzz, an online source of reliable, impartial, easy-to-understand information about HD research. HDBuzz is now the world’s foremost HD research news source. In recognition of this, I was awarded the 2012 Michael Wright Community Leadership Award by the Huntington Society of Canada and the 2014 Research Award by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.