William J. Powers, M.D., has been named the Charlotte and Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology.
David M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology, made the announcement.
Powers is head of the cerebrovascular disease section of the neurology department and a professor of neurological surgery and of radiology.
“Bill has been a world leader in trying to understand how normal regulation of brain blood flow and metabolism is disrupted by conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease,” Holtzman said. “Those conditions are the two leading causes of dementia in the United States, and the Hagemann chair is dedicated to supporting a researcher working on developing a better understanding of the underpinnings of dementia.”
Powers said, “I’m extremely grateful to the Hagemanns for donating the funds to create this chair. It allows me to have the flexibility to pursue new and innovative ideas.”
In addition to his work on stroke and dementia, Powers’ studies have included efforts to identify differences in the way the infant brain uses oxygen and glucose. Improved understanding of those differences could provide significant help to efforts to prevent brain damage during the birthing process and at other points early in life.
“The brain of the newborn infant is very different than the adult brain in terms of its blood usage,” Powers said. “It needs much less blood and seems to need very little oxygen — blood flows comparable to what the adult brain receives would be lethal to the infant brain.”
Powers also studies the adult brain’s use of oxygen and glucose. He is leading an investigation of whether abnormalities in the use of oxygen can contribute to the brain degeneration that occurs in Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. If so, drugs that correct those abnormalities might be useful in slowing the progression of the diseases.
Powers and a team of School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital physicians are also leading a multicenter trial to see if physicians can use differences in measurements of brain oxygen consumption to select the right treatments to reduce risk in stroke patients.
Holtzman was the first faculty member to hold the Hagemann chair. When he became head of the Department of Neurology, he automatically became the Jones chair in the department.