Dr. Merit Cudkowicz

Merit Cudkowicz, M.D., has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2021. Dr. Cudkowicz has served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Massachusetts General Brigham Neuroscience Institute since February 2025. She previously served as the Chair of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2012 to January 2025. Dr. Cudkowicz is the Director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS and Director and the Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, she has led innovations to accelerate the development of treatments for people with neurological disorders such as ALS, including the first platform trial in ALS, and serving in a senior role in the research and development of the first antisense oligonucleotide treatment for a neurological disorder. Dr. Cudkowicz is also the principal investigator of the Clinical Coordination Center for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Neurology Network of Excellence in Clinical Trials, or NeuroNEX. Dr. Cudkowicz received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a MSc. in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health.