Nico U. F. Dosenbach, MD, PhD, was installed as the inaugural David M. and Tracy S. Holtzman Professor of Neurology on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. The ceremony included remarks from David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, the Andrew B. & Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the WashU Medicine Department of Neurology, and David M. Holtzman, MD, the Barbara Burton & Reuben M Morriss III Distinguished Professor of Neurology.
Dosenbach is a professor of neurology at WashU Medicine, with additional appointments in radiology, pediatrics, biomedical engineering, psychological & brain sciences and occupational therapy. After completing his undergraduate studies in biochemistry at Columbia University, he earned his MD/PhD at WashU Medicine. As part of the new Allied Labs for Imaging Guided Neurotherapies (ALIGN) Center at WashU, he aims to develop more effective neuromodulatory treatments through personalized precision imaging. His research is focused on pushing resting state functional connectivity MRI (RSFC), functional MRI (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to the level of individual patients. This individual-specific precision brain mapping approach has already revealed that a somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) alternates with effector-specific regions (foot, hand, mouth) in the primary motor cortex, forcing a revision of classical textbook models of the motor system. It has since been shown that this newly recognized network is altered in Parkinson’s Disease, and that reversing SCAN hyperconnectivity improves Parkinson’s symptoms. Neuromodulation of the SCAN and the closely related action-mode network (AMN) have also shown promise in treating chronic pain.
About David M. and Tracy S. Holtzman
David M. Holtzman, MD, is a native St. Louisan who has dedicated his neurology and research career to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer Disease. In addition to his research lab, Holtzman was head of the WashU Medicine Department of Neurology from 2003-2021 and is currently scientific director of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders and director of the Knight Alzheimer Disease and Research Center (ADRC) at WashU Medicine.
Tracy S. Holtzman attended Duke University and earned her master’s degree in physical therapy from Columbia University in New York. She began her career at the University of California, San Francisco, then saw adult patients with hemophilia at St. Louis University Hospital and worked for Washington University at Children’s Hospital in pediatric rheumatology. Since retiring in 2010, she has been engaged in volunteer work, including multiple board positions.
Together, David and Tracy Holtzman have been steadfast supporters of WashU, including medical school scholarship funds, The Bishop lecture, The Dodge lecture, neurology resident travel scholarships, The Center on Biological Rhythms and Sleep (COBRAS) and the Knight ADRC.
