The Department of Neurosciences at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute welcomes its newest Assistant Staff member, John T. Gale, PhD. Dr. Gale comes to the Cleveland Clinic from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (MGH/HMS), where he was a postdoctoral fellow, and then Instructor/Research Scientist, under the mentorship of neurosurgeon Emad N. Eskandar, MD. While at MGH/HMS, Dr. Gale's studies focused on the basal ganglia, a specific group of brain structures located at the base of the forebrain that are involved in motor control, motivation, and learning. This work provides a basis for understanding dysfunctions of the basal ganglia, which are thought to underlie a wide range of human diseases, from motor disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia, to psychiatric disorders, such as major depression and addiction. It is this connection between investigating normal physiological function of the basal ganglia and the diseases that emerge when this function is disrupted that drives Dr. Gale's current research.
During Dr. Gale's previous training, which includes a focus on deep brain stimulation, he mastered complex behavioral, electrophysiological, and computation techniques, providing his research with a solid interdisciplinary platform. In addition, Dr. Gale considers the clinic to be essential for prompting the right questions that can then be tested in the laboratory setting. His joint appointment with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Neurological Restoration provides this setting that fosters a multidisciplinary, translational approach to impact patient care.
Interestingly, Dr. Gale is not entirely new to the Cleveland Clinic. It was here that he started as a technician and discovered his passion for neurosciences under the tutelage of Erwin B. Montgomery, MD. In 2004, he was the first to graduate from Kent State University's collaborative PhD program in Biomedical Sciences with the Cleveland Clinic. His first postdoctoral position was at Georgetown University under the mentorship of Karen Gale, PhD, (no relation) before joining MGH/HMS. Today his research continues in the Department of Neurosciences, which boasts expertise in many neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In addition to important strengths in studying motor disorders, Dr. Gale will add the cognitive physiology behind psychiatric disorders to the departmental repertoire.