Nicholas John Maragakis, MD

Dr. Maragakis treats patients with a variety of neuromuscular disorders. His clinical practice is particularly notable for its attention to patients with motor neuron diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This expertise is coordinated with the ALS clinic at Johns Hopkins, a multidisciplinary clinic with expertise in treating ALS patients and providing support to their caregivers. As an extension of Dr. Maragakis clinic, he is an investigator in clinical trials for ALS patients.

Dr. Maragakis has interests in both the basic science of understanding neurologic disease as well as clinical investigations for treating neurologic disorders. His laboratory studies the role of astrocytes (the supporting cells of the brain) in causing and propagating neurological diseases, such as ALS. His interests also include the use and transplantation of astrocyte stem cells into animal models of diseases to establish their potential to treat patients with neurologic disease. His clinical research interests have included the treatment of patients with ALS using new drug therapies. Studies are also planned to evaluate potentially new approaches in ALS therapy.