Neil Aronin

Neil Aronin is Higgins Family Professor in Neuroscience at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, holding appointments across multiple departments including Medicine, Genetic and Cellular Medicine, NeuroNexus Institute, Radiology, and RNA Therapeutics Institute. He serves in both T.H. Chan School of Medicine and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences with leadership roles in the MD/PhD and Neuroscience programs.

Dr. Aronin earned his BA in History from Duke University (1970) and MD from University of Pennsylvania (1974), followed by internship/residency at Duke University Medical Center and research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. His clinical expertise spans neuroendocrinology (pituitary/hypothalamic disorders), inherited endocrine diseases, and adrenal conditions.

Research Focus: His laboratory investigates the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases. Recent work centers on oligonucleotide-based therapeutics targeting mutant huntingtin, with significant contributions to siRNA engineering, blood-brain barrier penetration, and allele-specific silencing strategies. His team has pioneered approaches to prevent oligonucleotide neurotoxicity and enhance CNS delivery efficacy.

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2022-2025) reveals a dominant focus on Huntington's disease therapeutics, with 12 of 15 articles directly related to huntingtin-targeting strategies. Key trends include development of dual-targeting siRNA scaffolds, extended nucleic acid backbones (exNA), MSH3 silencing to prevent somatic expansion, and characterization of mutant huntingtin mRNA nuclear clustering phenomena.

Dr. Aronin maintains active collaborations with Khvorova, DiFiglia, and others across UMass Chan, with research supported by multiple NIH grants focused on neurodegenerative disease mechanisms and therapeutic development. His laboratory offers rotation projects in molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, utilizing techniques including immunocytochemistry, PCR, protein separation, and organelle preparation.