Dr. Darras is Principal Investigator of the Children’s Hospital Boston site of NeuroNEXT. He is the Joseph J. Volpe Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. At Children’s Hospital Boston, Dr. Darras is Director of Clinical Neurology and Associate Neurologist-in-Chief; he also serves as Director of the Neuromuscular Program and heads the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic. Dr. Darras is a pediatric neurologist with advanced training and certification in human genetics. His primary research focus is in the field of pediatric neuromuscular disorders. His specific research interests and major publications have focused on the molecular genetics and diagnostics of Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, spinal muscular atrophy, and other myopathies, and on defining the indications for new diagnostic methodologies in the evaluation of children with pediatric neuromuscular diseases. His clinical focus is the care of children with neuromuscular conditions originating from inherited or acquired conditions of the motor unit. He serves as Principal Investigator of the Children’s Hospital Boston sites for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy PNCR Consortium, funded by the SMA Foundation, and for the MDA Clinical Research Network Center, funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He is frequently invited to lecture at national and international meetings on topics related to his expertise in neuromuscular disorders and genetics. He has published over 100 original reports in peer-reviewed journals and over 70 chapters, and is co-editor of two textbooks including Neuromuscular disorders of infancy, childhood, and adolescence: a clinician’s approach (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003).

Clinical Sites

Children's Hospital Boston

Basil T. Darras, MD, Principal Investigator