RogerPackerMD

Summary

• Gilbert Family Distinguished Professorship in Neurofibromatosis. Former Director of the Brain Tumor Program and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his career, Dr. Packer has been heavily involved in clinical and applied basic science research, touching on various aspects of adult and child neurology and neuro-oncology, including adult and pediatric brain tumors, neurofibromatosis type 1, the neurologic aspects of childhood neurogenetic diseases, and general child neurology, publishing over 400 original articles and 350 reviews and chapters.
  
  Dr. Packer spearheaded efforts in pediatrics for the program review, held by the NCI and NINDS for brain tumors, coordinating the first gene therapy study for children with malignant brain tumors in the U.S. He is presently co-chair of the Brain Malignancy Committee of the NCI. In 2020 the International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on Dr. Packer for his substantial contributions to pediatric oncology and scientific achievements.
  
  Presently, Dr. Packer is the principal investigator (PI) at Children’s National for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC), formed under the auspices of the National Cancer Institute (NCI); chairman of the PBTC Low-Grade Glioma Committee; site PI for Children's National for the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium; and chair of the Medulloblastoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group. Dr. Packer works closely with the NCI and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and has served on multiple committees setting the directions for neurologic clinical and basic science research for the future. Current research includes the development and performance of clinical trials for adults and children with neurologic, neuro-oncologic, and neurogenetic disorders, and peer-reviewed grant support for this research.