Richard Finkel, M.D., has nearly 30 years of experience in translational research into the biology and treatment of neurologic disorders, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Pompe disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and other neurogenetic diseases of children. He is an international leader in organizing key clinical trials for neuromuscular diseases and is a leading international expert in spinal muscular atrophy, playing a vital role in developing the first successful therapy for this disease. Since 2020, Dr. Finkel has served as a member of the St. Jude faculty, where he co-led the initiative to create a Neuroscience Research Consortium along with Memphis‐based Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. As Director for the Center for Experimental Neurotherapeutics, he leads the clinical arm that investigates treatments for children with devastating neuromuscular diseases. Prior to St. Jude, Dr. Finkel served as Chief of Neurology at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando and Professor of Neurology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Finkel is a member of numerous professional and scientific societies, including being elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. He completed pediatric and neurology residency training at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and completed neuromuscular and electromyography training at the Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel, the Lahey Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Finkel earned a B.A. in chemistry at Washington and Jefferson College and a M.D. at Washington University, St. Louis.