Southern Research names new neuroscience department head

Aug 3, 2017

In an effort to expand its neuroscience research and drug discovery into diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Southern Research has named a new neuroscience department chair.

Rita Cowell was named the new department leader this week, coming to the nonprofit after 10 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was an associate professor in the psychiatry and behavioral neurobiology department. Cowell earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Michigan.

Rita Cowell is the new head of Southern Research's neuroscience department.

Cowell’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. She is currently examining why people develop neurodegenerative diseases so that eventually researchers can find cures.

“Some of these disorders actually converge on similar pathways in the brain. Even though they look different on the outside, if you look at one region of the brain, the process at the cell level is actually very similar,” Cowell said. “The idea is that if we could understand what that process is, we could use one drug to target one set of symptoms that is common to these diseases.”

Cowell’s research has focused on how cellular pathways in the brain are disrupted in these diseases. Her work on Parkinson’s disease has been funded though a five-year grant from the NIH and support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation. She also has led research into other diseases such as Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.

“All these diseases have very characteristic symptoms. Someone will go into a clinic and they have a memory problem or they have a problem with uncontrolled movements,” she said. “What distinguishes these diseases and their symptoms from each other is the cell types in the brain that are dying.”

Cowell said Southern Research’s extensive drug discovery capacities will allow her to pursue her ultimate goal of developing a small-molecule drug that could prove useful against a wide range of neurological diseases.

Mark Suto, the vice president of Southern Research’s Drug Discovery division, said Cowell’s work on neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Parkinson’s, will provide a solid foundation to build on in the neuroscience department. 

“Rita’s extensive understanding of these debilitating neurological disorders will be instrumental in advancing our goal of discovering novel treatments for patients who desperately need help,” Suto said. “We believe that she is the ideal person to direct our neuroscience department as we strategically expand it over time into new areas of investigation that align with our drug discovery mission.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2017/08/03/southern-research-names-new-neuroscience.html