Richard S. Finkel, MD, director, St. Jude Center for Experimental Neurotherapeutics, has been named to Time Magazine’s TIME100 Health list for 2025.
TIME has named Richard S. Finkel, MD, Center for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (CENT) director at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to TIME100 Health, the news magazine’s list of 100 individuals who are positively influencing global health in 2025.
Finkel, a leading pediatric neurologist, joined St. Jude in 2020 to lead the creation of CENT, the clinical arm of the Pediatric Translational Neuroscience Initiative (PTNI). His arrival signified an expansion of the institution’s pediatric catastrophic diseases to include neurologic disorders.
In 2022, Finkel led the first in utero treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with the orally administered drug risdiplam. Today, more than two years after the child was born, no identifiable features of SMA have been observed, demonstrating the feasibility of treating the disease prenatally. The promising results were published in February in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Richard is a pioneer in pediatric neuromuscular diseases. His work is bringing hope and healing to children with spinal muscular atrophy around the world,” said James R. Downing, MD, president and CEO of St. Jude. “This recognition underscores Richard’s dedication to creating a better, healthier world.”
Finkel’s clinical practice and research interests have focused on pediatric neuromuscular disorders, especially SMA, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, inherited neuropathies and neurometabolic disorders. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters.
“For decades, St. Jude clinicians and researchers have sought cures for catastrophic childhood diseases such as cancer, sickle cell and HIV,” said J. Paul Taylor, MD, PhD, executive vice president, St. Jude scientific director and PTNI director. “Yet, a great unmet need exists today for the majority of catastrophic neurological disorders. This is a well-deserved recognition of Richard’s achievements and deep understanding of these diseases.”
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer, sickle cell disease, and other life-threatening disorders. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since the hospital opened more than 60 years ago. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. To learn more, visit stjude.org, read St. Jude Progress, a digital magazine, and follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.