In September, we partnered with the Research & Treatment Development for FXTAS
Dr. David Hessl presented “Research & Treatment Development for FXTAS” on September 23, 2024. In it, he gives an overview of the current state of research and drug development related to FXTAS.
All About FXTAS
Dr. Peter Todd presented “All About FXTAS” on September 16, 2024. In it, he gives an overview of the causes and symptoms of FXTAS, the typical diagnostic journey for those affected, and what to expect for clinical care.
More FXTAS Resources →
More FXTAS Webinars →
About the Speakers
David Hessl
David Hessl, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the head psychologist at the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center at UC Davis, where FXTAS (Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome) was first discovered and reported in 2001. His clinical interests involve cognitive, emotional, and behavioral evaluation of children, adolescents, and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially those with Fragile X syndrome, autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities. He also has expertise in developmental psychopathology, particularly mood and anxiety disorders, in infants and young children.
He directs the Translational Psychophysiology and Assessment Laboratory (T-PAL) at the MIND Institute to investigate the emotional psychophysiology of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and to develop novel outcome measures for clinical trials. His work currently concentrates on autism, Fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and Fragile X premutation carriers, who are at risk for neurodegenerative disease.
He received his PhD in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in 1997, which included a clinical internship at Stanford University, and received postdoctoral fellowship training at the UC Berkeley Institute of Human Development during 1997-1998.
Dr. Hessl’s career has focused on Fragile X-associated disorders since 1998, having published 114 peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics to date. Dr. Hessl also serves on the National Fragile X Foundation’s Clinical Trials Committee.
Peter K. Todd
Peter K. Todd, MD, PhD, is the Bucky and Patti Harris Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. As a clinician, Dr. Todd co-directs Michigan University’s Multidisciplinary Ataxia Clinic, where he sees patients with FXTAS (Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome), and the Fragile X Syndrome Clinic, where he sees adult patients with Fragile X syndrome. He also serves as director of the Clinical Neurogenetics Research Program, which aims to improve research and care for patients with inherited neurological disorders.
As a physician-scientist, the Peter Todd Lab studies the mechanisms by which nucleotide repeat expansions cause neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders with a long-term goal of developing novel therapeutics for currently untreatable conditions. His lab has published extensively on Fragile X-associated disorders, such as Fragile X syndrome and FXTAS, as well as C9orf72 repeat expansions that cause ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and frontotemporal dementia.
In the past decade, Dr. Todd has given over 80 invited presentations across the world and published over 50 papers on his research.
