Biography
Dr. Ben Murdock received his B.S. from UCLA in 2004 in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. We then came to the University of Michigan from graduate school and received his Ph.D. in Immunology in 2010 while working under Drs. Gary Huffnagle and Eric White. After spending several years as a postdoctoral fellow working at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs hospital with Drs. John Osterholzer and Michal Olszewski, Dr. Murdock transferred to the University of Michigan Department of Neurology where he studies the role of the immune system in neurodegenerative diseases with Dr. Eva Feldman and Dr. Stephen Goutman.
Research Interests
My primary work examines the role of the immune system in driving disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We and others have found that immune manipulation can change disease course in ALS mouse models, and that peripheral immune changes are correlated with disease changes in human patients. We are currently trying to understand the underlying immune mechanisms of ALS as well as why these immune mechanisms seem to differ in patients based on their age or their sex. In addition, we are actively seeking immune-modifying treatments that we can translate into clinical therapies for ALS patients.
Current Student Advisees
