Beau M. Ances, MD, PhD

Beau Ances, MD, PhD graduated magna cum laude (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 with a B.A. in International Relations. He was awarded a Thouron Fellowship and studied in the United Kingdom where he obtained a MSc. in Health Planning and Finance from the London School of Economics/ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1994. He returned to the United States and entered the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine where he was awarded a NIH Medical Scientist Training Program Scholarship and developed a strong passion for clinical translational research. He received a National Research Science Award in 1996 for his graduate thesis work on applications of neuroimaging methods in animal models of stroke and their implications for humans. In 2000 he obtained his Ph.D. degree in Neurosciences and a M.D. degree in 2001. During medical and graduate school he was awarded the Eric C. Raps Memorial Prize as the top medical student in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001.

He completed his internship in Internal Medicine in 2002 at Pennsylvania Hospital and Neurology residency in 2005 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During his residency he was awarded the Penn Pearl Award for excellence in medical student education and training in 2004. It was during his residency that he was one of the first neurologists to describe paraneoplastic disorders (NMDA receptor encephalitis). He was chosen by the Neurology department faculty at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for the most prestigious award for residents- the Arthur Asbury Neurology Resident Award for Clinical Excellence in 2005.

From 2005-2008 he was a post-doctoral fellow in Neuroimmunology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). His work focused on neuroinfectious diseases (including NeuroAIDS). He was obtained private foundation support from the Universitywide AIDS Research Program of California Clinical Fellowship Award and the American Federation for AIDS Research (amFAR) Fellowship. In 2007 he was the recipient of a K23 career development award from the NIH for his work concentrating on novel neuroimaging methods to assess changes in brain function in neuroinfectious diseases. He was also recognized by the faculty and residents for his excellence in teaching by the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD (Junior Faculty Teaching Award -2008). He was awarded a Dana Foundation Brain Immuno-Imaging Scholarship for cutting edge research in neuroimmunology.

In 2008 he was recruited to Washington University in St. Louis. Over the past 10 years at Washington University in Saint Louis he has risen from the ranks of Assistant to Associate to Full Professor. He is the inaugural Daniel J Brennan Endowed Professor of Neurology and is currently the youngest endowed professor in the Department of Neurology. Since arriving at Washington University in Saint Louis Dr. Ances has expanded his interest in neurodegenerative diseases (especially Alzheimer’s disease). His laboratory was one of the first in the world to develop novel positron emission tomography (PET) tau imaging of Alzheimer’s disease. He is the site leader for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and is a member of the Executive committee for the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). His work continue to translating novel neuroimaging methods for differentiating neurodegenerative diseases in the clinical setting. Dr. Ances is an active member and leader in multicenter NeuroAIDS organizations such as the Neurologic AIDS Research Consortium (NARC), the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), and the CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER). He has served on numerous NIH and private foundation study sections and has led NIH panels for developing new guidelines for the diagnosis of HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). He is a fellow of the American Neurological Association (ANA) and American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

Dr. Ances is an author on over 150 publications and his work has been cited by numerous media outlets (including the Associated Press, US News and World Report, Time, Discover, etc.) and he has been featured in multiple PBS documentaries (including Alzheimer’s Disease: Every Minute Counts). He has mentored multiple undergraduate students, graduate students, post- doctoral candidates. Members of his laboratory have received independent funding from NIH and private foundations. ABL has strong collaborations both within the WUSTL community and institutions in the United States (e.g. University of Missouri Saint Louis, Yale University, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt University, University of Chicago, University of Hawaii) and internationally (Capetown University in South Africa and Monash University in Australia).

On the clinical side, Beau Ances, MD, PhD sees patients with neurodegenerative diseases including AD, HAND, CJD, paraneoplastic disorders, and concussions.  He currently sees outpatients on the 6th Floor of the Center for Advanced Medicine (CAM) at Washington University in St. Louis. The CAM is located at Forest Park and Euclid Avenues. Please contact (314) 747-8423 if you wish to schedule an appointment.