Edward Wild (neuroscientist)

Edward Wild, also known as Ed Wild, is a British neurologist and neuroscientist in the field of Huntington's disease and an advocate for scientific outreach to the public.[1] He co-founded the Huntington's research news platform HDBuzz in 2010.[2] He is a professor of neurology at UCL Institute of Neurology and is an associate director of the UCL Huntington's Disease Centre.[3] He is also a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.[4]

This article is about the British neurologist. For the American Civil War general, see Edward A. Wild.
Prof Edward John Wild
Edward Wild in May 2023
Edward Wild in May 2023
Born
UK
NationalityBritish
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge (1996–2001)
University College London (2005–2008)
Known forHuntington's disease research and outreach
AwardsHuntington's Disease Society of America Researcher of the Year, 2014;
Huntington Society of Canada Community Leadership Award, 2013;
Huntington Study Group Insight of the Year, 2015.
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsUCL Institute of Neurology;
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
ThesisIdentification and evaluation of biomarkers for Huntington's disease (2009)
Doctoral advisorSarah Tabrizi
Websiteedwild.com

Career

Wild studied medicine at Christ's College, Cambridge.[5] In his early career, he studied and published on the neurological phenomenon of déjà vu.[6] He undertook a PhD, supervised by professor Sarah Tabrizi, at the UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London,[7] during which he published research on biomarkers for Huntington's disease using magnetic resonance imaging measures of brain atrophy[8][9][10][11] and biochemical analysis of blood.[12][13] Wild and Tabrizi continue to work together at the UCL Huntington's Disease Centre.[14]

Wild and colleagues described a novel pathogenic pathway of immune activation in Huntington's[15][16] which later became the basis of clinical trials of immune-targeted therapies.[17] In 2015, he published the first successful detection and quantification of mutant huntingtin protein (the known cause of Huntington's) in human cerebrospinal fluid, using a novel 'single-molecule counting' immunoassay. This finding was noted as a 'research highlight' by Nature Reviews Neurology and won Wild the Huntington Study group 'Insight of the Year' award in 2015.[18][19][20] He has also published novel genetic causes of 'phenocopy' syndromes that mimic Huntington's disease.[21][22]

Wild's research since 2017 has focused on the potential of neurofilament light and mutant huntingtin protein[23][24] as biomarkers for Huntington's disease onset and progression. His work has shown that NFL has better prognostic value in Huntington's disease, but that mutant huntingtin might be a valuable marker for early and sensitive detection of change in clinical huntingtin-lowering trials.[25][24] He was a senior investigator in the clinical programme studying the antisense oligonucleotide tominersen to lower mutant huntingtin production in HD,[26] and gave the first dose of the drug to a patient in 2015.[27][28][29]

He serves on the Medical Advisory Panel of the UK Huntington's Disease Association,[2] the Editorial Board of the Journal of Huntington's Disease,[30] the Association of British Neurologists Neurogenetics Advisory Panel,[31] and the Translational Neurology Panel of the European Academy of Neurology.[32] He is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Huntington's Disease Network[33] and Co-lead facilitator of the Network’s Biomarkers Working Group.[34] He is a founder member of the advisory panel to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Huntington's disease.[35][36]

He was promoted to professor of neurology in October 2020, in the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences.[37] As of September 2022, Wild has authored 7 book chapters[3] and 150 peer-reviewed publications with over 12,000 citations.[38]

Public engagement work

In 2010, with Jeff Carroll, Wild founded HDBuzz, an online source of accessible news about Huntington's disease research,[39][40] that has received awards from patient advocacy groups.[41] He said he helped establish HDBuzz to provide tempered research news to counter the hype of medical press releases about HD.[42] He has commented that common online opinions that people with Huntington's disease should not be allowed to have children "borders on historical eugenics-type thinking".[43] He has described Huntington's as "the most curable incurable brain disorder" because of the possibility of targeting treatments to its known genetic cause.[44][45]

Wild appeared in the documentary feature film The Inheritance[46][47] and was a judge for the 2015 British Library / Europe PubMed Central 'Access to Understanding' contest for science writers.[48] He has appeared on the BBC Radio Naked Scientists programme.[49] In July 2016, he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme talking about Huntington's disease with Jenni Murray.[50] In December 2017, he appeared on RTE Radio 1 talking about Huntington's disease treatments.[51] In 2020, he appeared in the Ken Burns PBS documentary The Gene: An Intimate History.[52][53]

In 2021, he wrote the afterword of Patient 1,[54] a book by Charlotte Raven about her experiences with Huntington's disease, including her participation on the trial of the experimental drug tominersen.[29] Wild is Raven's doctor and injected her with the first dose of tominersen on the Gen-Peak trial.[29]

Personal life

Wild lives in East London with his partner Joel. They have a cat and a chihuahua, Riley.[29]

Awards and honours

References
  1. Yohrling GJ, Vetter LA (2017). "Stewarding Hope: The Evolving Landscape of Huntington's Disease Science Communications". J Huntingtons Dis. 6 (1): 33–35. doi:10.3233/JHD-160230. PMID 28128771.
  2. "HD Centre - People - Team Wild". UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. "UCL Iris Profile – Prof. Edward Wild". Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. Hayden, Erika (23 February 2016). "Should you edit your children's genes?". Nature. 530 (7591): 402–405. Bibcode:2016Natur.530..402C. doi:10.1038/530402a. PMID 26911764.
  5. "Christ's College Pieces Magazine". 27 July 2021.
  6. Phillips, Helen (25 March 2009). "Déjà vu: Where fact meets fantasy". New Scientist. pp. 3, 5. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Wild, Edward (June 2009). Identification and evaluation of biomarkers for Huntington's disease (PhD Thesis). UCL Discovery Institutional Document Repository (Doctoral). University College London.
  8. Dorsey, E. Ray; Beck, Christopher A.; Darwin, Kristin; Nichols, Paige; Brocht, Alicia F. D.; Biglan, Kevin M.; Shoulson, Ira; for the Huntington Study Group COHORT Investigators (2013-12-01). "Natural History of Huntington Disease". JAMA Neurology. 70 (12): 1520–1530. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.4408. ISSN 2168-6149. PMID 24126537.
  9. Wild, Edward J.; Henley, Susie M. D.; Hobbs, Nicola Z.; Frost, Chris; MacManus, David G.; Barker, Roger A.; Fox, Nick C.; Tabrizi, Sarah J. (2010-05-15). "Rate and acceleration of whole-brain atrophy in premanifest and early Huntington's disease". Movement Disorders. 25 (7): 888–895. doi:10.1002/mds.22969. ISSN 1531-8257. PMC 9136537. PMID 20461806. S2CID 33524701.
  10. Henley, Susie M. D.; Wild, Edward J.; Hobbs, Nicola Z.; Frost, Chris; MacManus, David G.; Barker, Roger A.; Fox, Nick C.; Tabrizi, Sarah J. (2009-04-30). "Whole-brain atrophy as a measure of progression in premanifest and early Huntington's disease". Movement Disorders. 24 (6): 932–936. doi:10.1002/mds.22485. ISSN 1531-8257. PMID 19243073. S2CID 206239857.
  11. Wild, Edward; Hobbs, Nicola; Henley, Susie (2011). "Huntington's Disease and Dementia". Neuroimaging in Dementia. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3642008177.
  12. Wild, Edward J.; Tabrizi, Sarah J. (2008-01-01). "Biomarkers for Huntington's disease". Expert Opinion on Medical Diagnostics. 2 (1): 47–62. doi:10.1517/17530059.2.1.47. ISSN 1753-0059. PMID 23485116.
  13. Weiss, Andreas; Träger, Ulrike; Wild, Edward J.; Grueninger, Stephan; Farmer, Ruth; Landles, Christian; Scahill, Rachael I.; Lahiri, Nayana; Haider, Salman (2012-10-01). "Mutant huntingtin fragmentation in immune cells tracks Huntington's disease progression". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 122 (10): 3731–3736. doi:10.1172/JCI64565. ISSN 1558-8238. PMC 3461928. PMID 22996692.
  14. Tabrizi, Sarah J.; Flower, Michael D.; Ross, Christopher A.; Wild, Edward J. (October 2020). "Huntington disease: new insights into molecular pathogenesis and therapeutic opportunities". Nature Reviews Neurology. 16 (10): 529–546. doi:10.1038/s41582-020-0389-4. PMID 32796930. S2CID 221129777.
  15. Björkqvist, M; Wild, EJ; Thiele, J; Silvestroni, A; Andre, R; Lahiri, N; Raibon, E; Lee, RV; Benn, CL; Soulet, D; Magnusson, A; Woodman, B; Landles, C; Pouladi, MA; Hayden, MR; Khalili-Shirazi, A; Lowdell, MW; Brundin, P; Bates, GP; Leavitt, BR; Möller, T; Tabrizi, SJ (4 August 2008). "A novel pathogenic pathway of immune activation detectable before clinical onset in Huntington's disease". The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 205 (8): 1869–77. doi:10.1084/jem.20080178. PMC 2525598. PMID 18625748.
  16. Dalrymple, A; Wild, EJ; Joubert, R; Sathasivam, K; Björkqvist, M; Petersén, A; Jackson, GS; Isaacs, JD; Kristiansen, M; Bates, GP; Leavitt, BR; Keir, G; Ward, M; Tabrizi, SJ (July 2007). "Proteomic profiling of plasma in Huntington's disease reveals neuroinflammatory activation and biomarker candidates". Journal of Proteome Research. 6 (7): 2833–40. doi:10.1021/pr0700753. PMID 17552550.
  17. "A Clinical Study in Subjects With Huntington's Disease to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Three Oral Doses of Laquinimod - Full Text View". ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  18. Wild, EJ; Boggio, R; Langbehn, D; Robertson, N; Haider, S; Miller, JR; Zetterberg, H; Leavitt, BR; Kuhn, R; Tabrizi, SJ; Macdonald, D; Weiss, A (May 2015). "Quantification of mutant huntingtin protein in cerebrospinal fluid from Huntington's disease patients". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 125 (5): 1979–86. doi:10.1172/JCI80743. PMC 4463213. PMID 25844897.
  19. Chase, Alex (21 April 2015). "Huntington disease: Cerebrospinal fluid and MRI biomarkers for prodromal HD". Nature Reviews Neurology. 11 (5): 245. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2015.63. PMID 25896083. S2CID 38300571.
  20. "Announcing HSG's 2015 Award Winners". Huntington Study Group. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  21. Hensman Moss, DJ; Poulter, M; Beck, J; Hehir, J; Polke, JM; Campbell, T; Adamson, G; Mudanohwo, E; McColgan, P; Haworth, A; Wild, EJ; Sweeney, MG; Houlden, H; Mead, S; Tabrizi, SJ (28 January 2014). "C9orf72 expansions are the most common genetic cause of Huntington disease phenocopies". Neurology. 82 (4): 292–9. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000000061. PMC 3929197. PMID 24363131.
  22. Wild, EJ; Mudanohwo, EE; Sweeney, MG; Schneider, SA; Beck, J; Bhatia, KP; Rossor, MN; Davis, MB; Tabrizi, SJ (15 April 2008). "Huntington's disease phenocopies are clinically and genetically heterogeneous". Movement Disorders. 23 (5): 716–20. doi:10.1002/mds.21915. PMID 18181206. S2CID 3086383.
  23. "Huntington's disease trial test is 'major advance'". BBC News. 8 June 2017.
  24. Byrne, Lauren M.; Rodrigues, Filipe B.; Johnson, Eileanor B.; Wijeratne, Peter A.; De Vita, Enrico; Alexander, Daniel C.; Palermo, Giuseppe; Czech, Christian; Schobel, Scott; Scahill, Rachael I.; Heslegrave, Amanda; Zetterberg, Henrik; Wild, Edward J. (12 September 2018). "Evaluation of mutant huntingtin and neurofilament proteins as potential markers in Huntington's disease". Science Translational Medicine. 10 (458): eaat7108. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aat7108. PMID 30209243. S2CID 206695500.
  25. Rodrigues, Filipe B.; Byrne, Lauren M.; Tortelli, Rosanna; Johnson, Eileanoir B.; Wijeratne, Peter A.; Arridge, Marzena; De Vita, Enrico; Ghazaleh, Naghmeh; Houghton, Richard; Furby, Hannah; Alexander, Daniel C.; Tabrizi, Sarah J.; Schobel, Scott; Scahill, Rachael I.; Heslegrave, Amanda; Zetterberg, Henrik; Wild, Edward J. (16 December 2020). "Mutant huntingtin and neurofilament light have distinct longitudinal dynamics in Huntington's disease". Science Translational Medicine. 12 (574): eabc2888. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.abc2888. PMC 7611886. PMID 33328328.
  26. Tabrizi, Sarah J.; Leavitt, Blair R.; Landwehrmeyer, G. Bernhard; Wild, Edward J.; Saft, Carsten; Barker, Roger A.; Blair, Nick F.; Craufurd, David; Priller, Josef; Rickards, Hugh; Rosser, Anne; Kordasiewicz, Holly B.; Czech, Christian; Swayze, Eric E.; Norris, Daniel A.; Baumann, Tiffany; Gerlach, Irene; Schobel, Scott A.; Paz, Erika; Smith, Anne V.; Bennett, C. Frank; Lane, Roger M. (13 June 2019). "Targeting Huntingtin Expression in Patients with Huntington's Disease". New England Journal of Medicine. 380 (24): 2307–2316. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1900907. hdl:20.500.11820/7da73cfb-3c2d-4f2e-9b92-463a6c7ad4de. PMID 31059641. S2CID 146811503.
  27. Whipple, Tom. "Huntington's breakthrough offers hope to thousands". The Times. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  28. Devlin, Hannah (11 December 2017). "Excitement as trial shows Huntington's drug could slow progress of disease". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  29. Louise, Carpenter (30 October 2021). "Charlotte Raven: Huntington's disease is 'a burden that is almost impossible to bear'". The Times. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  30. "Journal of Huntington's Disease". IOS Press. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  31. "Association of British Neurologists Annual Report 2020-21" (PDF). Association of British Neurologists. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  32. "Neuroscience/Translational neurology". European Academy of Neurology.
  33. "EHDN Structure – European Huntington's Disease Network". ehdn.org. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  34. "Biomarkers Working Group – European Huntington's Disease Network". EHDN. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  35. Harrison, Jacqueline (December 2013). The 'hidden no more' mass lobby June 2010 - using oral histories and cultural representations to explore the concealment of Huntington's disease. (Masters Thesis). University of Huddersfield Repository (masters).
  36. "Massive Underestimation In The Prevalence Of Huntington's Disease In The UK Population". Science 2.0. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  37. "Promotions 2019-20 - Professors". UCL Human Resources. 29 June 2020.
  38. "Dr Edward J Wild". Google Scholar Citations. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  39. Macleod, Rhona; Tibben, Aad (20 March 2014). Huntington's Disease (4 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0199370474.
  40. Kenneally, Christine (2015). The Best Australian Science Writing. NewSouth. ISBN 9781742242231.
  41. "2014 Science Communication Awards: The winning entries". AMRC - Association of Medical Research Charities.
  42. Peter, Forbes (20 March 2018). "How close are we to a cure for Huntington's?". The Independent. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  43. Brewer, Kirstie (11 June 2021). "Huntington's disease won't stop me having a baby". BBC News.
  44. "Researcher Hopeful, Sure of Future Cure for Huntington's Disease". Huntington's Disease News. BioNews Network. 22 July 2016.
  45. Wild, Edward J. (May 2016). "Huntington's Disease: The Most Curable Incurable Brain Disorder?". eBioMedicine. 8: 3–4. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.05.023. PMC 4919568. PMID 27428401.
  46. "Watch The Inheritance Online | Vimeo On Demand". Vimeo. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  47. "Edward Wild". IMDb. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  48. "Access to Understanding Science Writing Competition 2015" (PDF). Access to Understanding. Europe PubMed Central.
  49. "Huntington's And Immunity - Dr Ed Wild, University College London". The Naked Scientists. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  50. "Listener Week. The Hayes Sisters; Huntington's Disease; Coping with the school holidays on a low income". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  51. "Morning Ireland - Breakthrough made in efforts to counter Huntington's disease". RTE Radio. RTE. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  52. Burns, Ken. "The Gene - Part 1: Dawn of the Modern Age of Genetics - Episode 1". PBS. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  53. "Part 1: Dawn of the Modern Age of Genetics". Ken Burns Presents: The Gene. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  54. Raven, Charlotte; Wild, Edward (4 November 2021). Patient 1. Penguin.
  55. "World-Renowned International Huntington Neurologists and Researchers to be featured at the Huntington Society of Canada's National Conference" (PDF). Huntington Society of Canada.
  56. "Carroll receives HDSA Researcher of the Year award". Western Today. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  57. "UCL HD Centre wins two prestigious 'Insight of the Year' awards". UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. September 12, 2017.
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