Information
Membership Number: FCA1155
Membership Type: Full Fellowship
Division: Natural Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences
Corresponding Email: ****ovic@usc.edu
Homepage(s): https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/berislav-v-zlokovic/
Present and Previous Positions
Chair and University Professor of Physiology & Neuroscience Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research, University of Southern California
· Professor of Neurosurgery & Neurology, Univ. of Rochester Med. Center (URMC), New York 2000-2011
· Dean's Professor, University of Rochester New York, 2005-2011
· Director, Center for Neurodegenerative and Brain Vascular Disorders, URMC New York, 2007-2011
· Member, Medical School Advisory Council, URMC, New York, 2007-2011
· Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Dementia Research, URMC New York, 2009-2011
· Professor of Neurosurgery, Physiology & Biophysics, University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, 1992-2000
· Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Physiology & Biophysics, USC Sch Med, Los Angeles, 1989-1991
· Director, Laboratory for Neuroscience/Neurosurgery, USC School of Medicine, LA, California 1989-2000
· Associate Professor of Medical Physiology, School of Medicine, Belgrade 1986-1989
Fields of Scholarship and Research Interests
Berislav Zlokovic, MD, PhD is the University Professor, Mary Hayley and Selim K. Zilkha Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology & Neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Zlokovic studies the role of brain microcirculation, particularly the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in health and disease in the adult and aging brain. He made major contributions to our understanding of the role of BBB in the pathogenesis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and stroke. Using animal models and studying human brain, his laboratory has shown that dysfunction in the BBB and brain microcirculation can accumulate before neuronal loss and is an early biomarker of human cognitive dysfunction. His group showed that disrupted cross-talk between BBB-associated pericytes and brain capillary endothelial cells within the neurovascular unit leads to neuronal dysfunction in both synapses and neurons. He showed that targeting the BBB cellular and molecular pathways by gene and cell therapy approaches, small molecules and/or biologics can slow down, arrest and/or prevent development of neurodegenerative changes. He has identified genes and receptors at the BBB that regulate brain levels of Alzheimer’s amyloid-beta toxin, which accumulates with aging and in AD. His team has developed new imaging techniques for studying BBB function in animal models and the living human brain. His findings contributed to development of Phase 2/3 clinical trials for AD. He co-discovered with J.H. Griffin vasculoprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities of activated protein C (APC) in the CNS, including the receptor requirements and downstream signaling pathways. These findings have been translated in successfully completed Ph 1 and Ph 2 trial of 3K3A-APC, a 2nd generation cell-signaling APC analog, in ischemic stroke patients, which led to a Ph 3 efficacy pivotal trial of 3K3A-APC in patients with ischemic stroke.
Honors, Awards and Other Membership
· British Council Award for Medical Research 1988
· James Zumberg Innovation Award, University of So. California 1991
· Shannon Career Development Award, NIH 1991
· Herbert Jr Hoover Award for Medical Research, Los Angeles 1993
· Serbian National Academy of Sciences & Arts, Foreign Member 1997
· MERIT Award from the National Institute on Aging - in recognition of sustained contribution to aging and leadership and commitment to the field 2004
· Dean’s Professor – Distinguished Faculty University of Rochester 2005
· ISOA/Elan Award for ‘novel approaches to drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease’ 2006
· MetLife Award for Medical Research for ‘significant contributions to our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and for bringing us closer to a cure’ 2006
· Javits Award National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke – in recognition of distinguished record of substantial contributions in a field of neurological sciences 2007
· Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology - in recognition of outstanding achievements in research on Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases 2009
· McCune Award from the Alzheimer's Association Dallas Texas ‘which is given to a researcher who has made a difference in Alzheimer’s disease’ 2009
· Presidential Citation (University of Rochester) for ‘pioneering approach to Alzheimer’s disease’ 2009
· Irene McCulloch Distinguished Lecture in Neuroscience, USC 2011
· Inaugural Zilkha Senior Scholar (KSOM/USC) for ‘sustained high level research on the role of vasculature in Alzheimer’s disease, related neurodegenerative disorders and stroke’ 2012
· Fellow, the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2013
· Society for Neuroscience Presidential Lecture – Blood-brain barrier and Neurodegeneration 2013
· Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research 2013
· The Chancellor’s Award Lecture in Neurosciences Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center 2014
· The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiative (DABI), Member, 2014
· Member, The European Academy of Sciences (Academia Europeae) - the Life Sciences Class, 2015
· The Bishop Lecture, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 2016
· Thomson Reuters List, ‘The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds’ now Clarivate Analytics for ranking among the top 1 % of the most cited authors in Neuroscience and Behavior over the last consecutive 19 years from 2002-2021
· Plenary Lecture Alzheimer’s disease & Parkinson’s disease Intl mtg, Vienna, 2017
· Del Monte Lecture in Neuroscience, University of Rochester NY, 2017
· The George Miller Distinguished Neuroscience Lecture, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2018
· Cedars Sinai Medical Center Featured Lecture, 2018
· The Raymond D. Adams Lecture, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, 2018
· 2019 USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship “the highest honor the university faculty bestows on its members for distinguished intellectual achievements”
· Nominator for The Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientists Prize the Hertie Foundation 2019 and 2021
· Nominator for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Sjöberg Prize 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022
· The Zelman 2020 lecture
· Official nominator for the VinFuture Prize 2021, 2022
· University Professor, Awarded very selectively by the President based on multi-disciplinary interests and significant accomplishments in several disciplines, 2021
· Nominator for the Novo Nordisk Prize, 2021
· Appointed nominator for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017, 2018 2019, 2020, 2021,2022
Selected Publications
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GqI1Ma4AAAAJ
Other Information
Zlokovic is recognized internationally as a leader in the fields of AD and stroke research. Thomson Reuters and Clarivate Analytics listed Zlokovic as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” for 21 consecutive years (2002-2022) for ranking in 1 % of the most-cited authors in the field of neurosciences and behavioral sciences. He received the MetLife Award for Medical Research for “significant contributions to our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and for bringing us closer to a cure”, the Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology in recognition of “outstanding achievements in research on Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases”, the Javits Award from the NINDS in recognition of “distinguished record of substantial contributions in a field of neurological sciences”, the MERIT Award from the NIA in recognition of “sustained contribution to aging and leadership and commitment to the field”, and the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship “the highest honor the university faculty bestows on its members for distinguished intellectual achievements”. He is the University Professor “awarded very selectively by the President based on multi-disciplinary interests and significant accomplishments in several disciplines”. He is fellow of the AAAS, The European Academy of Sciences, and The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiative. He was appointed nominator for the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for 5 consecutive years (2017-2022).
He is an active entrepreneur and inventor. He co-founded ZZ Biotech, a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for stroke and neurological disorders.