William T. Dauer, M.D., a neurologist acclaimed for his research into dystonia and Parkinson’s disease, joined UT Southwestern Medical Center in July 2019 as the inaugural Director of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

Most recently, Dr. Dauer was Director of the Movement Disorders Group and the Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research at the University of Michigan.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Dauer’s groundbreaking research has focused on the molecular basis of dystonia and the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. His findings have elucidated the critical role of the torsinA protein in the progression of dystonia, which is marked by disabling, involuntary movements. The studies of his Udall Center team dissecting the neurobiologic basis of falls in Parkinson’s are being used to pioneer a therapy for this currently untreatable symptom.

Dr. Dauer is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and has been honored with the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation’s Fahn Award and Columbia University’s Harold and Golden Lamport Award for excellence in clinical science research.

He attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. After postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital and a medical internship at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, he completed his residency in neurology and fellowship in Parkinson’s disease and related movement disorders at Columbia University in New York, where he established a laboratory in 2001. In 2009, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School.