Dr. Daniel Drachman received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He then completed an internship in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston Harvard Service and a residency in neurology at the Harvard Neurological Unit at Boston City Hospital. He went on to become a clinical and research associate at the National Institutes of Health.

Now a Professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Drachman is one of the founding members of the department. He founded the Neuromuscular Center, which is now one of the largest divisions within the department and is now named after him. He is well known as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and lecturer, and has trained a large number of residents and fellows in neuromuscular diseases. Many of his former trainees are now among the leaders in the field throughout the U.S. and the world.

Dr. Drachman's interests include neuromuscular diseases, immunology, and basic aspects of nerve-muscle interactions and development. He is widely considered to be a leading authority on myasthenia gravis, and other neuromuscular disease that involve auto-immunity. Some of the landmark research that he has conducted includes:

•  The discovery of the role of movement in the development of joints and how failure of movement before birth can lead to the most common congenital defect in humans - - i.e., clubfoot, as well as Arthrogryposis. This work has become the standard theory of joint development
• The "neurotrophic" role of motor nerves and neuromuscular transmission in maintaining the structure and function of muscles
• The treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy using corticosteroids. This is the only treatment known to benefit boys with this uniformly crippling inherited muscle disease
• A large body of work on the causes, mechanisms and treatment of myasthenia gravis, including a number of novel treatments and new genetic therapies for future treatment of myasthenia gravis
• The role of cyclooxygenase-2 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and a trial of treatment with COX-2 inhibitors in this otherwise uniformly fatal disorder

Dr. Drachman has served on numerous national committees throughout his career. He has held grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Muscular Dystrophy Associations for more than thirty years, as well as grants from other private and national sources. Dr. Drachman was named the inaugural W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Professor of Neuroimmunology in May 2003.

Dr. Drachman currently sees patients at The Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center located in Baltimore on Mondays.

Certifications:

• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Link to Curriculum Vitae