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The Cornerstone of Success

Biology alum leads the way in neuroscience

Neuroscience illustration

College of 艺术与科学

日历图标2023年3月6日

铅笔的图标丽贝卡·斯特基蒂著

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In the years that 韦德体育app官网 was laying its foundation as a world-class academic institution, 哈利奥尔, Ph.D., CAS ’71, was laying the cornerstone of his career by beginning his OU education in 1968.

The son of an engineer, Dr. Orr believed he would follow in his father’s footsteps before discovering that the study of science came more naturally to him. After a brief stint at the 大学 of Miami, he decided to enroll at the relatively new university near his home, then called Michigan State 大学-奥克兰.

“Biology was a small department then, so there was more opportunity for direct interaction with professors,奥尔回忆道.

Orr worked closely with Michael Riley, Ph.D., and credits his labs as the perfect combination of interesting, challenging and fun. It was while under the tutelage of Dr. Riley that Orr decided to continue his research and begin teaching. Upon graduation, he attended Washington 大学 in St. Louis, Missouri to further his education in neurobiology.

Looking back, Orr says that his time at OU launched him on the path of his career. After Washington 大学, he studied molecular biology at Harvard 大学 and eventually landed at the 大学 of Minnesota Medical School, where he is currently a professor and James Schindler and Bob Allison Ataxia Chair in Translational 研究 in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. He is also the director of the Institute for Translational Neuroscience.

“To say that 韦德体育app官网 was a stepping stone is a gross understatement,” explains, Orr. “My experience at OU is why I am where I am now.”

Where Orr is now is on the cusp of creating a treatment for spinocerebellar ataxia, a hereditary and progressive degenerative disease affecting motor coordination and cognition. According to Orr, “Patients will succumb 10-20 years after the onset of symptoms. Sometimes the onset can be late in life, at which point something else may take their life. But if that’s not the case, it’s usually the symptoms from this disease that take their life.“因为他的工作, Orr was awarded the 2022 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience for outstanding achievement in advancing knowledge and understanding of the brain and nervous system.

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