Linda L. Restifo, MD, PhD

Linda L. Restifo, MD, PhD, has a lifelong passion to understand the genetics of brain disorders. Currently Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona (UAz), she launched her research program with an initial basic-science emphasis and gradually moved toward translational medicine. Her team demonstrated the extraordinary similarity of genes essential for normal brain development in humans and fruit flies, and the utility of primary cultured mutant neurons as a cellular bioassay for drug discovery. In collaboration with medical geneticists, she participated in gene identification for early-onset epilepsy and other severe disorders using whole-exome sequence data. Other innovative collaborations led to software development for 2D neuron-image analysis and a microfluidic system for dissociation of neural tissues. Her research funding has come from NINDS, NICHD, John Merck Fund, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Autism Speaks, Jerome Lejeune Foundation, and TechLaunch Arizona. In 2019-20, Dr. Restifo was a Visiting Scientist at Tucson-based Critical Path Institute’s Consortium for Parkinson’s Disease, to share her genetics expertise and to learn about clinical trial design and analysis. As an educator, Dr. Restifo starts with the principle that “the molecule is not the disease,” emphasizing the importance of clinical diagnosis and disease classification alongside studies of cellular and molecular pathogenesis. She has supervised the research projects of graduate students in Neuroscience, Insect Science, and Genetic Counseling, as well as many undergraduates.