Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD
University of Michigan Medical School
Thanks to the work of University of Michigan neurologist Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, clinicians now have a better understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of two complex disorders: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the neurologic complications of diabetes. Dr. Feldman, a physician-scientist who directs the ALS Center of Excellence at University of Michigan Medical School, also directs the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies, a laboratory where 30 scientists study neurodegeneration with an emphasis on ALS and the neurological complications of diabetes and obesity. Over the course of her 30 years of continuous research funding, she has investigated the inner workings of brain and nerve health and has produced more than 600 publications, which have been cited more than 70,000 times. Her profound, foundational impact in neurology has been nothing short of revolutionary.
Using a Michigan patient cohort of more than 1,500 ALS cases and controls, Dr. Feldman and her team developed the first ALS environmental risk score that assesses blood levels of multiple pollutants and calculates the likelihood of a person developing ALS. The tool also predicts survival after disease onset. She and her team received an NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award to define the intersection of modifiable environmental and nonmodifiable genetic risk factors for sporadic ALS, advocating for personalized prevention strategies. Her recently conducted transcriptomic, epigenomic, and metabolomic analyses have uncovered key dysregulated pathways central to ALS progression, including oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. She also led FDA-approved clinical trials of intraspinal stem cell transplantation for ALS treatment. This first-in-kind trial and transplantation approach changed the field of stem cell therapy and offers rare hope for patients with ALS and their loved ones.
In research on the neurologic complications of diabetes, Dr. Feldman uncovered the fact that controlling hyperglycemia alone does not stop the progression of diabetic neuropathy in Type 2 diabetes, and that treatment must target all aspects of the metabolic syndrome, especially hyperlipidemia. These findings informed new clinical guidelines emphasizing diet and exercise as first-line treatments for diabetic neuropathy. Her recent research reveals that these same interventions maintain brain health and decrease the risk of dementia.
Beyond her research, Dr. Feldman is recognized as an outstanding teacher and mentor who has provided superlative training to more than 100 research and clinical fellows and 11 graduate students. A champion of women in academic medicine, she serves as a co-investigator on a project to identify interventions to support women’s participation in biomedical research.
Dr. Feldman is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is past president of the American Neurological Association and Peripheral Nerve Society. Her many honors include two Michigan Medicine Alumni Society Distinguished Achievement Awards, lifetime achievement awards from the American Diabetes Association and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award.
Dr. Feldman earned a BA from Earlham College, and an MD and PhD from the University of Michigan. She completed her neurology residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and a fellowship in neuromuscular disorders at University of Michigan Health System, where she has remained on the faculty since 1988.