Introducing Dr. Florian Eichler
Submitted By: Ellen Burns, Medical Liaison
Florian Eichler received his M.D. from the University of Vienna Medical School in 1997. He did a residency in Pediatrics; he studied blood flow in the brain and metabolism at the University of Vienna. In 1999 he won a scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore with Dr. Hugo Moser. There, he began working with boys affected by X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (Lorenzo’s oil disease), a degenerative disorder of the nervous system characterized by inflammatory demyelination, progressive neurological dysfunction and death. Following his research fellowship at Johns Hopkins he became a resident in Child Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and in 2005 he joined the staff at MGH.
Now an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School he is extending his research into animal models of neurodegenerative disorders under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Brown. His research focus is on neurogenetic disorders and lipid metabolism. As director of the leukodystrophy clinic at the Massachusetts General Hospital, he sees patients with a variety of neurodegenerative conditions. The clinical focus is on diagnosis and identification of potential treatments for patients with leukodystrophies.
The mutation in the SPTLCT gene in HSN-1 affects the regulation of sphingolipids. Dr. Eichler’s expertise in lipids metabolism is a great addition to the research team.
Dr. Eichler wrote: “My former mentor Hugo Moser said that all research is based on personal relationships. The longstanding admiration and respect that Dr. Moser and Dr. Brown had for each other (Dr. Moser passed away in 1/2007) made my path into the Day lab appear natural and easy. Aware of the devastating affect upon patients, I see research into the impact of lipid metabolism as an important tradition to carry on. I very much enjoyed meeting you and your family. It certainly added an important dimension to the bench research.”