Andrea Gropman, M.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Neurology

• B.A., Brandeis University, 1996
• M.D., University of Massachusetts, 1992

Contact Information:

2 Pasquerilla Healthcare Center 3800 Reservoir Road, NW Washington, DC, 20007 T: 202-444-8518 F: 202-444-7161 Contact Information

I am a child neurologist and clinical geneticist with an interest in how various inborn errors of metabolism lead to neuronal damage. While individually rare, inborn errors of metabolism collectively account for significant morbidity and mortality across the lifespan. In the majority of these disorders, the brain is injured early and irreversibly. My research uses non invasive neuroimaging and seeks to improve our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms that contribute to metabolic, neurocognitive and motor abnormalities in inborn errors of metabolism. As a result of this study, a greater understanding of the anatomic, cognitive, motor, and biochemical underpinnings of brain damage attributable to metabolic disorders will be gained. Experimental approaches will combine cognitive and motor testing with structural, functional and molecular magnetic resonance imaging to study symptomatic subjects and asymptomatic carriers compared to an age- matched comparison groups. Such an understanding may lead to the development of neurotherapeutic agents to protect the brain. My basic research focuses on identifying imaging biomarkers in animal models of inborn errors of metabolism and the testing of various agents that may protect neuronal function and/or salvage damage. A second research interest is determining the neurological phenotype of a number of pediatric genetic disorders, including the Smith-Magenis syndrome, a chromosome microdeletion syndrome using neuroimaging and neurobehavioral cognitive testing.

Representative Publications:

• Gropman A (2004). Imaging of neurogenetic and neurometabolic disorders of childhood. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 4(2):139-146.
• Gropman A and Batshaw ML (2004). Cognitive outcome in Urea cycle disorders. Mol Genet Metab. 2004 Apr;81 Suppl 1:S58-62.
• Gropman AL (2005). Expanding the diagnostic toolbox for inborn errors of metabolism: The role of Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the evaluation and follow up of metabolic disorders (invited review, Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, in press).

More Publications at PubMed

Related Links:

• Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging (CFMI)