Bönnemann Lab Team

Dr. Bönnemann is a pediatric neurology and physician-scientist who received his MD with distinction from the Medical School at Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany. At Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical school, Dr. Bönnemann completed a research fellowship in neurogenetics, a residency in neurology/child neurology, a clinical fellowship in neurology (neuromuscular) and a research fellowship in genetics. In 2001 he earned his “habilitation” in pediatrics (advanced PhD degree) from the University of Göttingen in Germany. Dr. Bönnemann is board certified in pediatrics (Germany) and in neurology with special qualification in child neurology (US). 

After over 15 years as a physician-scientist and branch chief of the Neuromuscular and Neurogenetic Disorders of Childhood Section at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bönnemann joined St. Jude as a Full Member in 2026, also serving as the inaugural chair for the Department of Genomic and Translational Neuroscience and the First Horizon Foundation Endowed Chair in Translational Neuroscience. His research focuses on elucidating the genetic and molecular drivers of neuromuscular and neurogenetic disorders and bringing forth genetic precision therapies to treat these catastrophic diseases. 

Dr. Bönnemann has had extraordinary impact on the field of neurological research, discovering genetic causes of juvenile neuromuscular diseases and facilitating novel therapeutics for treating these diseases. He has received numerous awards, including election to the American Academy of Pediatrics, several NIH and NINDS Director’s Awards, the MDA Legacy Award for Achievement in Clinical Research, and the Derek-Denny-Brown Neurological Scholar Award and the George Jacoby Award both from the American Neurological Association.