Michael Ward to join UC Berkeley faculty in neuroscience and molecular therapeutics

May 12, 2026

by Alexander Rony

UC Berkeley announced today that it is hiring Michael Ward, M.D., Ph.D., to be the inaugural Schekman Family Chancellor's Chair in Neuroscience. Ward will join the faculty on July 1 with a joint appointment in the Department of Neuroscience and the Division of Molecular Therapeutics in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. He will also become a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and an investigator at the Innovative Genomics Institute.

Ward comes to Berkeley from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, where he spent more than a decade as a senior investigator and practicing neurologist. His laboratory studies the basic biology that underlies age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“Michael Ward is doing highly impactful research that is revealing the molecular basis for what goes wrong in neurons to cause neurodegenerative disease,” said Dan Feldman, chair of the Department of Neuroscience. “We’re very excited about bringing Michael here because his work builds on the terrific research in molecular and disease-related neuroscience that already goes on in Berkeley. By bringing in a star like Michael Ward, we are positioning ourselves at the forefront of research on the cellular nature of neurodegeneration, which will enable new therapies to treat these diseases.”

Ward's research focuses on how disrupted RNA biology and lysosomal failure drive neurodegeneration. To study these problems, his group developed a simple method to rapidly turn human stem cells (iPSCs) into neurons. Ward also co-directed the iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative, a public-private partnership that built the world's largest library of CRISPR-engineered iPSC lines for disease research.

His laboratory has used these stem cell platforms to make several important discoveries. They showed that neurons use lysosomes as vehicles to transport RNA long distances, a process that is disrupted in ALS. With collaborators in the United Kingdom, his group discovered that neurons with clumps of a protein known as TDP-43 don’t properly splice UNC13A, a key synaptic gene. Therapeutics that reduce UNC13A mis-splicing and improve synaptic function are now moving into clinical trials for ALS, and biomarkers of TDP-43 dysfunction are being developed based on this breakthrough and related discoveries. Most recently, he and collaborators showed that common genetic variants linked to dementia cause the buildup of toxic proteins within lysosomes, ultimately damaging these critical organelles.

These discoveries established Dr. Ward as a leading physician-scientist who converts genetic and cell biological insight into therapeutic opportunities.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Michael Ward to the Molecular Therapeutics Division in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology,” said Matt Welch and Greg Barton, co-chairs of the department, in a joint statement. “Dr. Ward’s innovative research, which uses induced pluripotent stem cells to study neurodegenerative diseases and develop therapeutics, exemplifies the spirit of discovery that defines UC Berkeley, advancing bold basic and translational research at the forefront of science.”

Ward is a co-founder of two companies, Trace Neuroscience and In Vivo Scientific, working to translate discoveries from his laboratory into new treatments. His appointment marks a return to the Bay Area: he completed his neurology residency at UCSF and postdoctoral training at the Gladstone Institutes.

The endowed chair that supports Ward’s position was established through a gift from two generous donors. That same gift will also fund an additional faculty hire in neurodegenerative disease, expanding Berkeley’s depth in one of biomedical science’s most pressing research areas.

“Ward’s recruitment strengthens the role of UC Berkeley’s academic research environment in the application of basic science to biomedicine,” said Randy Schekman, professor of molecular and cell biology and Nobel Laureate.