Clifford Lab
David Clifford, MD
David Clifford is a leading expert in neuropharmacology and clinical neurology at WashU Medicine. His career has focused on improving therapeutics for neurological disorders, with a particular emphasis on the neurological complications of HIV.
Since 1993, Clifford has led the Neurologic AIDS Research Consortium, a national NIH-funded research group dedicated to developing improved therapies for neuroAIDS. He also serves as the principal investigator for the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at WashU Medicine, a premier site within the international NIH-funded AIDS therapeutic network. In addition, he is an active investigator in the CHARTER study, a multicenter epidemiologic project focused on neuroAIDS, and co-principal investigator for the Vanderbilt AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, which includes the WashU Medicine clinical research site.
Clifford’s research includes a specific focus on the effects of aging in individuals with chronic HIV infection. His work extends globally, having led international research efforts in Ethiopia, Uganda, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Thailand.
In addition to his work in HIV neurology, Clifford is the principal investigator for the WashU Medicine NeuroNEXT trial unit, one of 25 NIH-funded centers designed to accelerate Phase 2 clinical trials for neurological disorders. He also contributes to the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center and serves as medical director for the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) — the first pre-symptomatic controlled trial aimed at preventing dementia in individuals with inherited forms of Alzheimer disease.
Principal investigator
Recent publications
- Towards pharmacological prevention of Alzheimer diseaseLlibre-Guerra, J. J., McDade, E. M., Schindler, S. E., Clifford, D. B., Supnet, C., Atri, A. & Bateman, R. J., Dec 2025, In: Nature Reviews Neurology. 21, 12, p. 721-733 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- A Multi-Center Retrospective Cohort Study of Neurosarcoidosis Myelitis: Current Observations and Future DirectionsManzano, G. S., Balaban, D., Zhang, Y., Healy, B., Chwalisz, B. K., Levy, M., Venna, N., Stern, B. J., Pardo, C. A., Barreras, P., Rjeily, N. B., Flanagan, E. P., Redenbaugh, V., Aksamit, A. J., Hutto, S., Herman, M., El Sammak, S., Rodriguez, E. C., Snider, L. & Rains, H. & 20 others, Montalvo, M., Rempe, T., Ramirez, S. M., Horta, L., Clardy, S., Lord, J., Cho, T. A., Abdel Wahed, L., Berger, J. R., Samudralwar, R. D., Torres, N. R., Clifford, D. B., Dunham, S. R., Majed, […]
- Alzheimer's Imaging ConsortiumJiang, M., Joseph-Mathurin, N., Wang, Y., Gordon, B., Cruchaga, C., Hassenstab, J. J., Ibanez, L., Li, Y., Perrin, R. J., Renton, A. E., Wang, G., Xiong, C., Llibre-Guerra, J. J., Clifford, D., Atri, A., McDade, E., Bateman, R., Benzinger, T. L. S. & Wang, Q., Dec 1 2025, In: Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 21, p. e109981Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- ENLITE PD: A Randomized Clinical Trial of Light Therapy for Impaired Sleep in Parkinson's DiseaseNeuroNEXT NN110 ENLITE PD Investigators, Nov 2025, In: Movement Disorders. 40, 11, p. 2445-2456 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- GATA2 mutation is associated with immune dysfunction and increased Mycobacterium haemophilum susceptibility in immunocompromised individualsGupta, A., Mehta, S. B., Abhimanyu, Rosa, B. A., Martin, J., Ahmed, M., Thirunavukkarasu, S., Fatma, F., Amarasinghe, G. K., Mitreva, M., Bailey, T. C., Clifford, D. B. & Khader, S. A., Sep 2025, In: JCI Insight. 10, 18, e185582.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- The relationship of soluble tau species with Alzheimer's disease amyloid plaque removal and tau pathologyThe DIAN-TU Study Team and DIAN Obs Team, Sep 2025, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 21, 9, e70689.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Interpreting the evidence on gantenerumab for dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease – Authors' replyDominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease–Trials Unit, Aug 2025, In: The Lancet Neurology. 24, 8, p. 635-636 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
- Regional effects of gantenerumab on neuroimaging biomarkers in the DIAN-TU-001 trialfor the DIAN-TU Study Team, Jul 2025, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 21, 7, e70347.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Safety and efficacy of long-term gantenerumab treatment in dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease: an open-label extension of the phase 2/3 multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled platform DIAN-TU trialDominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease–Trials Unit, Apr 2025, In: The Lancet Neurology. 24, 4, p. 316-330 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Downstream Biomarker Effects of Gantenerumab or Solanezumab in Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Disease: The DIAN-TU-001 Randomized Clinical TrialWagemann, O., Liu, H., Wang, G., Shi, X., Bittner, T., Scelsi, M. A., Farlow, M. R., Clifford, D. B., Supnet-Bell, C., Santacruz, A. M., Aschenbrenner, A. J., Hassenstab, J. J., Benzinger, T. L. S., Gordon, B. A., Coalier, K. A., Cruchaga, C., Ibanez, L., Perrin, R. J., Xiong, C. & Li, Y. & 30 others, Morris, J. C., Lah, J. J., Berman, S. B., Roberson, E. D., Van Dyck, C. H., Galasko, D., Gauthier, S., Hsiung, G. Y. R., Brooks, W. S., Pariente, J., […]