Lawrence L. Latour

Dr. Lawrence L. Latour serves as Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator of the Acute Cerebrovascular Diagnostics Unit (ACDU) within the Stroke Branch of NINDS' Division of Intramural Research at the National Institutes of Health. His clinical research operates at Suburban Hospital (Bethesda, MD) and Washington Hospital Center (Washington, DC), providing immediate MRI access for approximately 1,000 stroke patients annually through NINDS-maintained stroke teams and research facilities.

His research pioneers MRI applications to identify, classify, and treat acute stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI), with key discoveries including traumatic microbleeds (TMBs) as vascular injury biomarkers and meningeal-vascular injury as a core mechanism in mild TBI. Dr. Latour developed the 'coretool' automated MRI platform for real-time stroke diagnosis and leads studies like GUARDS (secondary injury after reperfusion) and TIMES (minor stroke evaluation) to translate imaging findings into targeted therapies.

Major funded initiatives include:

• NINDS Acute Cerebrovascular Diagnostics Unit (PI since 2016)
• DOD Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine Acute Studies Core (10-year directorship, ~2,000 patients)

His scientific recognition includes the US DOE Alexander Hollander Distinguished Post-doctoral Fellowship. The ACDU program bridges translational gaps through multidisciplinary collaborations spanning MRI-targeted histology, blood biomarkers, and clinical trials to advance acute brain injury understanding and improve patient outcomes.