D. Allan Butterfield is a world-renowned biological chemist celebrated for his pioneering investigations into oxidative stress mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders. He currently holds the prestigious Alumni Association Endowed Professorship of Biological Chemistry at the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences while directing the Redox Metabolism Shared Resource Facility at the Markey Cancer Center. With additional faculty appointments at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, he maintains a multidisciplinary research presence across the university. Educated at the University of Maine where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1968 and Duke University where he earned his PhD in 1974, Butterfield joined the University of Kentucky faculty in 1975 and has since established himself as a thought leader in redox biology and neurodegenerative disease research.
Butterfield's groundbreaking research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of free radical oxidative stress in aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer's disease. His laboratory pioneered the application of redox proteomics to identify oxidatively modified proteins in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue, revealing critical molecular mechanisms behind cognitive decline. His seminal work demonstrating that alpha-enolase, a key glycolytic enzyme, becomes dysfunctional due to oxidative modification by HNE in Alzheimer's disease has provided crucial insights into the metabolic basis of neurodegeneration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Expertscape recognized him among the world's leading Alzheimer's disease experts, underscoring the global impact and relevance of his research contributions.
Beyond his research achievements, Butterfield has profoundly influenced the scientific community through his exceptional mentorship of more than 160 undergraduate students and numerous graduate researchers throughout his distinguished career at the University of Kentucky. As Director of the Center of Membrane Sciences and faculty member across multiple research centers, he has cultivated interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge chemistry, neuroscience, and aging research. His leadership extends to national scientific recognition as a Fellow of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine, and he currently serves as Associate Vice President for Centers and Institutes and Interim Executive Director of the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment. Butterfield continues to advance the frontiers of oxidative stress research while training the next generation of scientists in understanding the complex biochemical mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders.
