Golde's research career was launched. “I really fell in love with it, and my professors encouraged me to look at an MD-PhD program,” he says. At Case Western Reserve University, he joined the small lab of Steve Younkin, MD, PhD, who was studying Alzheimer’s disease. “The research was so exciting,” Golde says. “Our lab was involved in a series of seminal papers that really laid the foundation for the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease.” While at Case Western, Golde worked at a Veteran’s Affairs outpatient clinic as part of his medical training, gaining experience with neurologic diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to myotonic dystrophy and multiple sclerosis. Now, at UF, he is principal investigator of the 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and in his new role as McKnight Brain Institute director, he will champion neuroscience and neuromedicine research across the UF campus. “Philosophically, he doesn’t see lines and departments and colleges,” says Michael Okun, MD ’96, chair of the department of neurology. “He thinks bigger. He sees the broader spectrum of neurological diseases and wants to put people together and use the institute to encourage interactions not only with the researchers but with the community at large.” And there is no time to lose. With the 65-and-older population in Florida continuing to grow, so will the burden of neurologic illness. “He doesn’t want potential therapies sitting in the laboratory — he wants them out there doing good,” Okun says. Todd Golde leads teams in the hunt for better treatments for brain disorders. he doesn't want potential therapies sitting in the laboratory — he wants them out there doing good." — Michael Okun, MD '96, chair of the department of neurology floridaphysician.med.ufl.edu SUMMER 2 0 1 7 | 13
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