Laurie Gutmann, MD
Dr. Laurie Gutmann became the Professor and Chair of Neurology and Co-Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Indiana University School of Medicine in October 2020. Her path to this current leadership role began in West Virginia. Dr. Gutmann grew up in Morgantown, WV, attending Morgantown High School. She graduated from Oberlin College with honors in 1981. Attending West Virginia University School of Medicine, she served as the class president for the Class of 1986. Her neurology residency and neuromuscular fellowship at University of Virginia established her clinical skills and her interest in clinical research. In 1993, she joined the WVU School of Medicine Department of Neurology. During her 20 years as WVU faculty, she was the clinical neurophysiology fellowship director and neurology residency program director. Establishing the ALS clinic, certified by the ALS Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, was one of her early accomplishments in the department. Her efforts resulted in the ability for people in WV to be involved in clinical trials in neuromuscular disorders. Dr. Gutmann established the clinical research program in the Neurology Department which continues today. She served as Director of the WVU Comprehensive Stroke Center, bringing together basic, translational, and clinical scientists to provide more clinical research in stroke. During her time at WVU, she also worked under contract for NINDS/NIH, serving as a Program Officer in the NINDS/NIH Extramural Office of Clinical Research. During this time, she was able to develop expertise in multi-center clinical trials, study trial design, research subject recruitment, and other aspects of clinical research. Her work with the development of Common Data Elements in neurologic clinical trials during this time led to her currently co-chairing the neuromuscular Common Data Elements for NINDS.
In 2013, Dr. Gutmann moved to the University of Iowa to become the Vice Chair of Clinical Research. She was part of the NIH Network of Excellence for Neurologic Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) Clinical Coordinating Center, in charge of site support, recruitment/retention, and diversity in clinical trials. She then received funding as co-PI of the University of Iowa NeuroNEXT Site, leading participation of clinical trials in this network in Iowa. For the last 10 years, she has also been a co-director of the NINDS funded Clinical Trials Methodology Course, an intensive course for junior clinical researchers designing their first clinical trials. She obtained NIH funding to develop a longitudinal clinical and imaging natural history study on people with myotonic dystrophy type 1. She established the multidisciplinary myotonic dystrophy clinic and was a key member of the neurogenetics group in a hereditary neuropathy clinic, collecting data for an international natural history study in these patients.
In her current role as the Chair and Professor of Neurology and co-Director of the Neuroscience Institute (NSI) at Indiana University School of Medicine/IU Health, Dr. Gutmann leads a department of 85 faculty, including adult and pediatric neurologists, neuropsychologists, basic and translational researchers. Her role in the NSI includes building a state-wide network for neuroscience clinical research, involving multiple sites across the IU Health system. She continues to work with NIH, serving on study sections and is currently co-chair of the NIH/NHLBI RECOVER-Clinical Trials Steering Committee for post-acute sequelae of COVID. Her research focus has been in clinical studies of neuromuscular disorders, rare diseases, and acute stroke trials, with special interest in hereditary muscle and nerve disorders. She also continues to train junior investigators in the design, implementation, and completion of clinical trials. Dr. Gutmann has published in multiple areas including clinical research outcomes, education, and policy. She has been an invited speaker at national and regional meetings as well as for endowed lectureships.
In addition to her academic work, for eight years, Dr. Gutmann was a Director for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, working to change the continuing certification for neurology from a computerized test to an article-based continuing certification format. She spoke frequently at national meetings to a broad audience during this transition. She spent six years as a member of the ACGME Neurology RC, serving as chair her last two years. She also served on the ABMS committee addressing maintenance of certification for physician scientists. These national She is a Fellow of both the ANA and the AAN and a member of the AANEM. She has served on or led multiple committees for all three organizations. She is recognized as a leader and has been a strong advocate for mentorship of women junior and senior faculty as well as peer mentorship.