Adeline Vanderver, MD

About Adeline Vanderver, MD

Adeline Vanderver, MD, is an Attending Physician in the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Jacob A. Kamens Endowed Chair in Neurologic Disorders and Translational Neurotherapeutics. She is also the Program Director of the Leukodystrophy Center of Excellence at CHOP.

Leukodystrophies are a group of inherited degenerative diseases that affect the white matter in the brain and spinal cord. Currently, leukodystrophies include about 30 disorders, and scientists estimate they occur in 1 in 7,000 births. Dr. Vanderver has focused on these diseases throughout her career, and previously helped to identify the genetic causes of a number of leukodystrophies using next-generation sequencing.

Under Dr. Vanderver’s leadership, the multidisciplinary Leukodystrophy Center team is focused on creating new standards of care for children with leukodystrophies by advancing leukodystrophy gene discovery, creating new therapies, and supporting and advocating for patients and their families.

In parallel with this strong clinical program, Dr. Vanderver’s preclinical and clinical research projects will aim to discover molecular therapeutics that target the genetics of leukodystrophy subtypes.

Already, Dr. Vanderver is leading two clinical studies that intend to repurpose medications — one that is currently used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and another that targets interferon — for patients with Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome. Another clinical trial underway is assessing the efficacy and utility of whole genome sequencing as a first-line diagnostic test for leukodystrophies.

In addition to her clinical and research efforts, Dr. Vanderver leads the Global Leukodystrophy Initiative, an advocacy group that includes parents, clinicians and researchers, to raise disease awareness and ensure that patients receive appropriate social and medical support.

Dr. Vanderver graduated with a degree in medicine from Universite Catholique de Louvain in Brussels, Belgium. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She then pursued a child neurology fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and a fellowship in biochemical genetics at the National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

Titles

Attending Physician

Professor of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Certifications

Child Neurology – American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Clinical Biochemical Genetics – American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics

Neurology – American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Pediatrics – American Board of Pediatrics

Awards and Honors

2015, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Visiting Fellows Award, Royal Children's Hospital of Melbourne, Australia

2013, Early Career Reviewer (ECR) program at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health

2007, United Leukodystrophy Foundation Travel Award

2007, American Academy of Neurology Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship

2004, American Academy of Neurology resident scholarship award

2003, Outstanding Junior Member Award, Child Neurology Society

2002, Ortho-McNeil TopScholars Program, Child Neurology Society Meeting

Leadership and Memberships

Memberships in Professional Organizations

International

2005-present, Society for Inherited Metabolic Disease, Invited Member

National

2008-present, Society for Neuroscience (Member)
2007-present, Consortium of MS Centers (Member)
2001-present, Child Neurology Society (Member)
2001-present, American Academy of Neurology (Member)

Editorial and Academic Positions

Ad Hoc Reviewer

2007-present, Neurology
2007-present, Orphanet
2007-present, Journal of Pediatric Neurology
2007-present, Clinical Autonomic Research

Education & training

Medical Degree

MD - Universite Catholique de Louvain Brussels, Belgium

Internship

Transitional Year - Frankford Hospital, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Residency

Pediatrics - A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Fellowship

Child Neurology - Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC
Biochemical Genetics - National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Team affiliations

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Publications

Publications

2020

Schneeberger PE, Kortüm F, Korenke GC, Alawi M, Santer R, Woidy M, Buhas D, Fox S, Juusola J, Alfadhel M, Webb BD, Coci EG, Abou Jamra R, Siekmeyer M, Biskup S, Heller C, Maier EM, Javaher-Haghighi P, Bedeschi MF, Ajmone PF, Iascone M, Peeters H, Ballon K, Jaeken J, Rodríguez Alonso A, Palomares-Bralo M, Santos-Simarro F, Meuwissen MEC, Beysen D, Kooy RF, Houlden H, Murphy D, Doosti M, Karimiani EG, Mojarrad M, Maroofian R, Noskova L, Kmoch S, Honzik T, Cope H, Sanchez-Valle A; Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Gelb BD, Kurth I, Hempel M, Kutsche K. Biallelic MADD variants cause a phenotypic spectrum ranging from developmental delay to a multisystem disorder. Brain. 2020 Aug 1;143(8):2437-2453.PMID: 32761064

2018

Nahhas N, Conant A, Orthmann-Murphy J, et al. Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-Like Disease 1. 2017 Dec 21. In: Adam MP, Ardinger HH, Pagon RA, et al., editors. GeneReviews® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2018.

Helman G, Venkateswaran S, Vanderver A. The spectrum of adult-onset heritable white-matter disorders. Handb Clin Neurol. 2018;148:669-692. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-64076-5.00043-0. PMID:29478607

Wells E, Hacohen Y, Waldman A, Tillema JM, Soldatos A, Ances B, Benseler S, Bielekova B, Dale RC, Dalmau J, Gaillard W, Gorman M, Greenberg B, Hyslop A, Pardo CA, Tasker RC, Yeh EA, Bar-Or A, Pittock S, Vanderver A, Banwell B. Neuroimmune disorders of the central nervous system in children in the molecular era. Nat Rev Neurol. 2018 Jun 20. PMID: 29925924

Sase S, Takanohashi A, Vanderver A, Almad A. Astrocytes, an active player in Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. Brain Pathol. 2018 May;28(3):399-407. PMID: 29740948

Hamilton EMC, Tekturk P, Cialdella F, van Rappard DF, Wolf NI, Yalcinkaya C, Çetinçelik Ü, Rajaee A, Kariminejad A, Paprocka J, Yapici Z, Bošnjak VM, van der Knaap MS; MLC Research Group. Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts: Characterization of disease variants. Neurology. 2018 Apr 17;90(16):e1395-e1403. Epub 2018 Mar 21. PMID: 29661901

Hamilton EMC, van der Lei HDW, Vermeulen G, Gerver JAM, Lourenço CM, Naidu S, Mierzewska H, Gemke RJBJ, de Vet HCW, Uitdehaag BMJ, Lissenberg-Witte BI; VWM Research Group, van der Knaap MS. Natural History of Vanishing White Matter. Ann Neurol. 2018 Aug;84(2):274-288. doi: 10.1002/ana.25287. Epub 2018 Sep 6.

2017

Köhler W, Curiel J, Vanderver A. Adulthood Leukodystrophies. Nature Reviews 2018 Feb;14(2):94-105. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.175. Epub 2018 Jan 5. Review. PMID:29302065

Ortigoza-Escobar JD, Alfadhel M, Molero-Luis M, Darin N, Spiegel R, de Coo IF, Gerards M, Taylor RW, Artuch R, Nashabat M, Rodríguez-Pombo P, Tabarki B, Pérez-Dueñas B and Thiamine Deficiency Study Group. Thiamine Deficiency In Childhood With Attention To Genetic Causes: Survival And Outcome Predictors, In Press Annals of Neurology

Editorials, Reviews, Chapters
2017

Sabetrasekh P, Vanderver A. Alexander disease; Pediatric Demyelinating Diseases of the Central Nervous System and Their Mimics: A case-based clinical guide. Editors: Emmanuelle Waubant and Timothy Lotze, Publisher: Springer, Projected Publication Date: January 2017

Ulrick N, Vanderver A. Hypomyelination with Brainstem and Spine involvement and Leg spasticity; Pediatric Demyelinating Diseases of the Central Nervous System and Their Mimics: A case-based clinical guide. Editors: Emmanuelle Waubant and Timothy Lotze, Publisher: Springer, Projected Publication Date: January 2017

 

Patient experience rating

(based on 46 submissions)
  • Clear Explanation
    4.8 of 5
  • Showed Concern
    4.9 of 5
  • Included in decisions
    4.9 of 5
  • Would recommend
    4.9 of 5
  • Discussion of Proposed Treatment
    4.9 of 5
Learn about the patient experience rating system

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