Donald L. Price

Donald L. Price (1935-2023) was an American neuropathologist and professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research aimed to understand the molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Price received a number of awards for his work and served as the President of both the American Association of Neuropathologists and the Society for Neuroscience.

Early life
Price was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended Wesleyan University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. In 1961, he received his medical degree from Albany Medical College of Union University. Following graduation, Dr. Price was a Medical Intern and Resident at the New England Medical Center, Boston, MA ( 1961–1963), and he completed a Neurology Residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (1963-1968). He was a Staff Neurologist at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland (1966-1968). He returned to Boston as a Senior Fellow in Neuropathology at Mass General (1968-1969) and as a Research Fellow in Cell/Molecular Biology (with Keith Porter)(1969-1970) at Harvard University.

Career
Price's first faculty appointment was as an assistant professor in the Departments of Neurology and Pathology at Harvard Medical School in 1970. In 1971, he was recruited to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, becoming the Founding Director of the Division of Neuropathology. At Hopkins, Price was a professor of pathology, Neurology, and Neuroscience.

Price served as President of the American Association of Neuropathologists from 1989 to 1990. From 2000 to 2001, he served as President of the Society for Neuroscience. Price was a member of The Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Sciences)(1998).

Over the course of his career, Price trained hundreds of medical and graduate students, house officers and postdoctoral fellows. His trainees include many prominent basic scientists and clinicians at a variety of medical schools, universities, and government institutions. During the “Decade of the Brain“ (1990-2000), Price was ranked among the top ten neuroscientists as authors of high-impact papers in neuroscience by Science Watch (12 102 2001).

Research
Price first focused on the biology of motor neurons, but later in his career, he became interested in brain mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, particularly [Alzheimer's disease]”. He often used animal models in order to “allow a more direct insight into pathogenesis”, in parallel with comparative analyses of disease in humans. His work with transgenic mice sought to experimentally test new treatment mechanisms before they reached human subjects. These studies identified specific genes that are often risk factors, particularly genes related to the generation and aggregation of Amyloid beta, a key component of Abeta plaques in the brain. In 1985, Price became Principal Investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, one of the first federally funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers in the United States.

Publications
Below are some of Price's highly cited publications: