Paul S. Fishman, MD, PhD

1971                   B.A.     Johns Hopkins University

1975                   Ph.D.    (Biology)  Yale University

1978                   M.D.    Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

1978-1979          Medical Intern, Baltimore City Hospital, and Fellow in Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

1979-1982          Resident, Department of Neurology, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

1982-1983        Fellow, Department of Neurology and Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

CERTIFICATION

1978                  FLEX

1983                  Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Paul S. Fishman M.D., Ph.D. is Clincal Professor of Neurology, Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

With dual training in neuroscience and neurology his main research interest is the translation of novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and ALS. As a clinician he established the first Alzheimer’s clinical program at the School of Medicine and has been an active participant in experimental drug trials for AD. He is the founder of the Medical-Scientific Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Maryland and has served on their Board of Directors. His laboratory explored the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in cellular and animal models of AD. He founded the program for the treatment of movement disorders with botulinum neurotoxin at Maryland while his laboratory developed strategies for detection and reversal of the toxin. He has a longstanding interest in the biology and potential therapeutic use of tetanus toxin as an enhancer of inadequate motor neuron activity, and of its non-toxin peptides as delivery vectors into the nervous system for therapeutic enzymes and trophic factors. He is the co-founder of the joint Neurology-Neurosurgery Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program at Maryland for the treatment of movement disorders, as the intra-operative neurologist and as leader of the group that programs the devices. 

His recent research involves the therapeutic use of focused ultrasound (FUS) in the brain. He a member of the FUS Center of Excellence at Maryland, and is the Neurology arm of the team instrumental to the first FDA approval of this technology in the brain for treatment of essential tremor. Current studies with patients with Parkinson’s disease explore this technology as a less invasive alternative to DBS. With collaborators in Radiology and Pharmacology they have combined FUS with magnetic attraction or iron containing nanoparticles to enhance minimally invasive stem cell delivery to the brain. 

Dr. Fishman is the former Chief of Neurology of the VA Maryland Health Care Systetm. He is a member of the American Neurological Association, the American Academy of Neurology, listed in Best Doctors in America, and past Chair of the Parkinson’s Disease Research Review Group for the VA. He is past Chair of the University of Maryland IRB and the School of Medicine Promotions Committee, and past member of the University Faculty Senate, School of Medicine Executive Committee, and University Medical Center Executive Committee. He is a founding member of the Stem Cell Consortium of the School of Medicine. He is a current research grant reviewer for the NIH, VA, FDA and FUS Foundation.  

Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, neurodegenerative disease, deep brain stimulation, DBS, focused ultrasound, FUS, blood-brain barrier, botulinum toxin, tetanus toxin, stem cells, magnetic targeting

Long AN, Owens K, Schlappal AE, Kristian T, Fishman PS, Schuh RA. Effect of  nicotinamide mononucleotide on brain mitochondrial respiratory deficits in an  Alzheimer's disease-relevant murine model. BMC Neurology 2015 Mar 1;15:19. doi:10.1186/s12883-015-0272-x. PubMed PMID: 25884176

Shen WB, Plachez C, Tsymbalyuk O, Tsymbalyuk N, Xu S, Smith A, Michel D, Mullins J, Yarnell D, Gulapalli R,  Puche A, Simard JM, Fishman PS, Yarowsky PJ. Cell-based therapy in TBI: Magnetic retention of neural stem cells in vivo. Cell Transplantation.  2015 Sep 21. doi: 10.3727/096368915X689550. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26395573.

Gramlich PA, Westbroek W, Feldman RA, Awad O, Mello N, Remington MP, Sun Y, Zhang W, Sidransky E, Betenbaugh MJ, Fishman PS. A Peptide-Linked Recombinant Glucocerebrosidase for Targeted Neuronal Delivery: Design, Production, and Assessment. J Biotechnology 2016 Mar 10;221:1-12. doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2016.01.015. Epub 2016 Jan 18. PubMed PMID: 26795355.

Elias WJ, Lipsman N, Ondo WG, Ghanouni P, Kim YG, Lee W, Schwartz M, Hynynen K, Lozano AM, Shah BB, Huss D, Dallapiazza RF, Gwinn R, Witt J, Ro S, Eisenberg HM, Fishman PS, Gandhi D, Halpern CH, Chuang R, Butts Pauly K, Tierney TS, Hayes MT, Cosgrove GR, Yamaguchi T, Abe K, Taira T, Chang JW. A Randomized Trial of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor. N Engl J Med. 2016 Aug 25;375(8):730-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1600159. PubMed PMID: 27557301.

Fishman PS, Elias WJ, Ghanouni P, Gwinn R, Lipsman N, Schwartz M, Chang JW, Taira T, Krishna V, Rezai A, Yamada K, Igase K, Cosgrove GR, Kashima H, Kaplitt  MG,Tierney TS, Eisenberg HM. Neurologic Adverse Event Profile of MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor. Movement Disorders May;33(5):843-847. doi: 10.1002/mds.27401. Epub 2018 Apr 27. PubMed  PMID: 29701263.

Eisenberg HM, Krishna V, Elias WJ, Cosgrove GR, Gandhi D, Aldrich CA, Fishman PS. MR Guided FUS Pallidotomy for Parkinson’s Disease: Safety and Feasibility. J    Neurosurg 2020 Nov 27;:1-7. doi: 10.3171/2020.6.JNS192773. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33481557.

Fishman PS, Fischell JM. Focused Ultrasound Mediated Opening of the Blood-Brain Barrier for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Front Neurol. 2021;12:749047. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.749047. eCollection 2021. Review. PubMed PMID: 34803886; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8599441