Dr. Nicolas G. Bazan is a distinguished neuroscientist and founding Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at Louisiana State University Health New Orleans, where he has established himself as a visionary leader in neuroscience research and education. He holds the inaugural Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair for Research in Retinal Degeneration, a position he has maintained since 1984, and was appointed to the highest academic rank in the LSU System as a Boyd Professor in 1994. Dr. Bazan also serves as a Foreign Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, demonstrating his international influence and recognition. His multidisciplinary expertise spans ophthalmology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and neurology, with a career dedicated to unraveling the complex mechanisms underlying neurological and retinal disorders.
Dr. Bazan has devoted his career to investigating fundamental cellular and molecular neuroinflammatory lipid signaling pathways in the early stages of neurodegenerative conditions and other brain and retinal dysfunctions. His groundbreaking research has uncovered novel cellular and molecular principles that reveal pro-homeostatic mediators capable of counteracting the onset, early stages, and progression of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, experimental stroke, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, and age-related macular degeneration. He has designed and developed several molecules for clinical applications, including non-narcotic analgesics for neuropathic pain, novel neuroprotective compounds, anti-inflammatories, and treatments for slowing glioblastoma multiforme invasiveness. His work on endogenous responses of the central nervous system to injury and neurodegeneration has been cited more than 34,000 times, reflecting its profound impact on the field.
As the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Neurobiology, Dr. Bazan has shaped scholarly discourse in neuroscience while serving as a Founding Senate Member of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a nationwide research program on Alzheimer's disease in Germany. His leadership extends to his role as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Foundation and his service on the Biology of the Visual System Study Section at the NIH. With an h-index of 95, his research has earned him prestigious recognition including the Balazs Prize from the International Society of Eye Research and the ARVO Proctor Medal and Award. Dr. Bazan continues to pioneer innovative approaches to understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases, with his laboratory currently focused on elucidating the principles underlying endogenous responses of the central nervous system to injury and neurodegeneration through a convergence of cellular and molecular approaches.
