Alan Faden

Alan Faden is the David S. Brown Professor of Trauma at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, with joint appointments in Neurosurgery, Neurobiology, Neurology, and Psychiatry. A neurologist specializing in neurotrauma, he founded the Center for Shock, Trauma and Anesthesiology Research and served as Associate Dean for Trans-Campus Research Advancement.

Faden's research focuses on traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, neuroinflammation mechanisms, and neural cell death pathways. His laboratory employs multidisciplinary approaches including molecular biology, transcriptomics, epigenetics, and behavioral assessment to study neurodegeneration patterns and neuroprotective treatments.

Faden has authored over 415 refereed papers and received continuous NIH funding for over 30 years. His seminal contributions include early demonstrations of opiate antagonists' role in shock treatment (1979) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone's neuroprotective effects (1981). Current work explores microglial senescence, extracellular vesicles in brain-spinal cord communication, and bidirectional brain-systemic interactions after injury.

He has received the Uniformed Services University Exceptional Service Medal and University of Chicago Distinguished Service Award. Faden served as founding editor-in-chief of Neurotherapeutics and president of the National Neurotrauma Society.