Daniel B. Drachman MD
Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology; WW Smith Charitable Trust Professor of Neuroimmunology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MarylandDaniel B. Drachman is Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and holder of the WW Smith Charitable Trust Professorship of Neuroimmunology.
He graduated from Columbia College Summa Cum Laude, and from NYU College of Medicine with the Founders Day Award. He did his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Neurology at Harvard, followed by research training at the NIH. After an interval at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Dr. Drachman was one of the Founders of the Neurology Department at Johns Hopkins, where he developed and led the Neuromuscular Unit, now known as the Daniel B. Drachman Neuromuscular Unit. He is the author of more than 260 scientific papers. He is best known for discovering the pathogenic deficit of ACh receptors in myasthenia gravis, the impairment of prenatal movement in the development of joint abnormalities including clubfoot and arthrogryposis, the use of prednisone in the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and the role of neurotransmission in the maintenance of "trophic" influences of the motor nerves. His basic research led to the clinical use of botulinum toxin.
He is the recipient of the Solomon Berson Award for basic scientific research, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Drachman was married to the late Jephta Piatigorsky Drachman, and is the father of Jonathan, Evan and Eric Drachman.