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Donald F. Weaver

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Canadian chemist and neurologist
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Donald F. Weaver is a Canadian chemist and neurologist based at the Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Canada. He is Senior Scientist of the Krembil Research Institute and Professor of Neurology, Chemistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Canada), Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Weaver specializes in memory and seizure disorders; his clinical practice included research in both basic and translational science as well as the presidency of Epilepsy Canada, the directorship of the Krembil Research Institute & the Krembil Brain Institute as well as appointments as Tier 1 Canada Research Chairs. He is known for his research into the biomolecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases with a current focus on innate immunity and re-conceptualizing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as a disorder of autoimmunity. His contributions also include the design and synthesis of new chemical entities as putative therapeutics for AD and related dementias.

He has also co-founded Neurochem Inc. and Treventis Corp., both focused on developing drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Neurochem proceeded to an initial public offering (IPO) on the TSX and NASDAQ and advanced two compounds to Phase III human trials. Treventis, similarly arose from Weaver’s academic laboratory, and has developed small molecule therapeutics targeting tau in AD and has established collaboration with Takeda Inc. for their continued development.

Biography

Weaver was born in North Bay, Ontario. He completed his MD at Queen’s University, followed by an internal medicine internship at the Hôtel-Dieu and Kingston General Hospitals. He next completed clinical residency training in Neurology at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University; where he also undertook additional training in behavioural neurology.  He returned to Queen’s University obtaining a Ph.D. in theoretical and organic chemistry, defending a dissertation on the applications of quantum mechanics and synthetic organic chemistry to neurologic drug design.

In his first academic appointment, he taught chemistry and neurology at Queen’s University. While at Queen’s, he established the first memory disorders clinic at that institution and was Professor and Head of the Division of Neurology from 1998 to 2001. He subsequently moved to Dalhousie University as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Neurodegenerative Diseases. While there he also became the inaugural Sobey Endowed Chair in Curative Approaches to Alzheimer’s Disease. He next relocated to Toronto as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Protein Misfolding and as the inaugural Director of the Krembil Research Institute.

He has been studying Alzheimer’s disease using theoretical/computational chemistry methods for more than 30 years. He was the computational chemist whose in silico screen identified analogues of taurine as potential disease modifying agents for AD; this led to the development of tramiprosate, which reached Phase III human trials for AD, and to eprodisate for the treatment of renal amyloidosis.

Weaver's peer-reviewed publications number over 400 - spanning clinical and basic science (theoretical and synthetic chemistry).  He has 48 issued patents.  He has also published poetry and short stories in the area of dementia.

Awards and honours

  • S. Weir Mitchell Award, American Academy of Neurology (1991)
  • Alzheimer’s Disease Centennial Award, American Health Assistance Foundation (2007)
  • Prix Galien Research Award Canada (2009)
  • Killam Research Fellowship Award, Arts Council of Canada (2010)
  • Jonas Salk Award, March of Dimes of Canada (2011)
  • Heinz Lehmann Award, Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (2011)
  • Harrington Innovator-Scholar Award (2020)
  • Oskar Fischer Prize in Alzheimer’s Research (2022)

References

  1. "University Health Network, Researcher Profile".
  2. "Donald Weaver, Professor - Status". UofT LDFP. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  3. "CAHS Fellows Directory – Canadian Academy of Health Sciences | Académie canadienne des sciences de la santé". Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  4. ^ "Canada Research Chairs, Government of Candad".
  5. Meier‐Stephenson, Felix S.; Meier‐Stephenson, Vanessa C.; Carter, Michael D.; Meek, Autumn R.; Wang, Yanfei; Pan, Luzhe; Chen, Qiangwei; Jacobo, Sheila; Wu, Fan; Lu, Erhu; Simms, Gordon A.; Fisher, Laural; McGrath, Alaina J.; Fermo, Virgil; Barden, Christopher J. (January 2022). "Alzheimer's disease as an autoimmune disorder of innate immunity endogenously modulated by tryptophan metabolites". Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. 8 (1): e12283. doi:10.1002/trc2.12283. ISSN 2352-8737. PMC 8985489. PMID 35415204.
  6. Weaver, Donald F. (January 2020). "Amyloid beta is an early responder cytokine and immunopeptide of the innate immune system". Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. 6 (1): e12100. doi:10.1002/trc2.12100. ISSN 2352-8737. PMC 7606184. PMID 33163614.
  7. Kolaj, Igri; Wang, Yanfei; Ye, Kailin; Meek, Autumn; Liyanage, S. Imindu; Santos, Clarissa; Weaver, Donald F. (August 2021). "Ferulic acid amide derivatives with varying inhibition of amyloid-β oligomerization and fibrillization". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 43: 116247. doi:10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116247. PMID 34157569. S2CID 235608263.
  8. Wang, Zhiyu; Wang, Yanfei; Pasangulapati, Jagadeesh Prasad; Stover, Kurt R.; Liu, Xiaojing; Schier, Stephanie (Wohnig); Weaver, Donald F. (October 2021). "Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of furosemide analogs as therapeutics for the proteopathy and immunopathy of Alzheimer's disease". European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 222: 113565. doi:10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113565. PMID 34118718.
  9. Zheng, Yong; Stafford, Paul M.; Stover, Kurt R.; Mohan, Darapaneni Chandra; Gupta, Mayuri; Keske, Eric C.; Schiavini, Paolo; Villar, Laura; Wu, Fan; Kreft, Alexander; Thomas, Kiersten; Raaphorst, Elana; Pasangulapati, Jagadeesh P.; Alla, Siva R.; Sharma, Simmi (2021-07-20). "A Series of 2‐((1‐Phenyl‐1H‐imidazol‐5‐yl)methyl)‐1H‐indoles as Indoleamine 2,3‐Dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) Inhibitors". ChemMedChem. 16 (14): 2195–2205. doi:10.1002/cmdc.202100107. ISSN 1860-7179. PMID 33759400. S2CID 232339495.
  10. "Appointments, Division of Neurology, Dalhousie University".
  11. "The Sobey Foundation gives $2M for Alzheimer's research chair". Dalhousie News. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  12. Kisilevsky R, Szarek WA, Weaver DF. A method of treating amyloidosis. U.S. Patent No. 5,728,375, issued March 17, 1998.
  13. Kisilevsky R, Szarek WA, Weaver DF. A method of treating amyloidosis. U.S. Patent 5,643,562, issued July 01, 1997.
  14. Weaver, Donald F. (2021-03-23). "A Day That Changed Lives". Neurology. 96 (12): 583–585. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000011547. ISSN 0028-3878. PMC 8032366. PMID 33504647.
  15. Weaver, Donald F. (2018-08-20). "In the Alzheimer waiting room". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 190 (33): E989–E990. doi:10.1503/cmaj.180320. ISSN 0820-3946. PMC 6102110. PMID 30998498.
  16. Weaver, Donald F. (2016-07-26). "Alzheimer's disease: True enemy of humankind". Neurology. 87 (4): e33. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002885. ISSN 0028-3878. PMC 4977108.
  17. Weaver, D. F. (2014-08-26). "Alzheimer's: Three voices, one song". Neurology. 83 (9): e97. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000000738. ISSN 0028-3878. PMC 4155045.
  18. "American Academy of Neurology | Awards History". www.aan.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  19. "Aiming at Multiple Alzheimer's Proteins May be Key to Success | BrightFocus Foundation". www.brightfocus.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  20. "Prix Galien | 2009 Laureates". prix-galien-canada.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  21. Canada, Employment and Social Development (2010-03-15). "Eight Canadian scientists and scholars garner over $1 million in Killam Research Fellowships". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  22. "Jonas Salk Recipients". www.marchofdimes.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  23. "Heinz Lehmann Award | JPN". www.jpn.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  24. "Donald Weaver, MD, PhD, FRCP(C) | Scholars | Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals". www.harringtondiscovery.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  25. "What if Alzheimer's is an autoimmune disease? Toronto neurologist awarded for work on unconventional hypothesis". The Globe and Mail. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
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