Erik Roberson, M.D., Ph.D., has been named interim chair of the UAB Department of Neurology, effective Oct. 1, 2026. Roberson is a professor and vice chair for basic and translational research in the department and holds the Rebecca Gale–Heersink Endowed Chair for Alzheimer’s Disease. He is also the director of the Frances Gorrie Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Killion Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics.
Roberson assumes the interim chair role upon the stepping down of David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D., who has been appointed vice president for research for UAB, effective Oct. 1. Standaert has led the Department of Neurology since 2011.
"I am honored to serve as interim chair of the Department of Neurology,” Roberson said. “This is a tremendous department with so many talented faculty and staff doing incredibly important work, and I'm deeply grateful to Dr. Standaert for his years of dedicated leadership. I'm excited to build on that momentum as we continue to grow and strengthen our clinical, research, and educational missions together."
Roberson earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, where he studied molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. He completed his residency in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, where he served as chief resident, followed by a fellowship in behavioral neurology and research training at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease. He joined the UAB faculty in 2008.
Roberson is an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose work focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. As director of the Frances Gorrie Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Killion Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, he has led groundbreaking research aimed at understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease and developing new therapeutic strategies.
An elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Fellow of the American Neurological Association, Roberson has secured substantial federal research support and has led numerous clinical and translational research initiatives. His pioneering work demonstrating the benefits of reducing tau in Alzheimer’s disease models helped establish a new direction for therapeutic development, with related treatments now advancing through human clinical trials.
Roberson has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is widely recognized for his contributions to neuroscience research, clinical care, and mentorship. He is also the recipient of UAB’s Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship and has trained numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty members.
A national search for a permanent chair of the Department of Neurology will be announced at a later date.
“I welcome Dr. Roberson to this key leadership role,” said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president for medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine. “His distinguished record of scientific discovery, clinical excellence, and dedicated mentorship will be invaluable as UAB Neurology continues its upward trajectory of growth and impact.”