Anthony Antonellis PhD

Anthony Antonellis, Ph.D., is a Professor of Human Genetics and Chair in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Michigan. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy at George Washington University. He is a leader in peripheral nerve development and disease research, with a focus on defining the molecular mechanisms of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) the most common hereditary neurological condition, which causes muscle weakness and decreased sensation, and affects 150,000 people in the U.S. alone. He was involved in the initial discovery of mutations in glycyl-tRNA synthetase in patients with CMT disease and since has identified mutations in many other tRNA synthase genes in patients. Additional research in his lab is aimed at understanding how gene expression in Schwann cells dictates myelination in the peripheral nerve and how this process is disturbed in disease states.