Xuemei Huang, MD, PhD
The UVA School of Medicine appointed Xuemei Huang, MD, PhD, a distinguished leader, clinician, educator, and scientist, as chair of the Department of Neurology on August 1, 2024. Dr. Huang came to UVA from the Penn State College of Medicine, where she has served as associate dean for physician-scientist development and chief of the Division of Movement Disorders. She is also the founding director of Penn State College of Medicine’s Translational Brain Research Center, which pursues translational research on neurodegeneration related to aging and diseases.
Originally from rural Beijing, People’s Republic of China, Dr. Huang has spent more than 20 years in the U.S. advancing translational research on neurodegeneration relating to aging and diseases. We recently interviewed Dr. Huang about her work as physician-scientist and inspirational leadership in the field of neurology.
Q. Why did you choose the UVA School of Medicine Department of Neurology?
Huang: The UVA Department of Neurology has a rich history and tradition, and very dedicated doctors, faculty, and excellent staff. UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan identifies many important opportunities facing academic healthcare systems, such as improving community access to our services, while cultivating a sense of belonging and empowerment to our workforce.
There is a growing burden of neurological disorders that may be outpacing all other diseases, as our population ages. Along with this, there has been also a rapid increase in scientific advances that has provided new toolsets for research, diagnosis, and development of new therapeutic development. It is an exciting time for neurologist and neuroscientists. I cannot image a better place to start the next chapter of my career, embrace both the challenges and opportunities in our department and healthcare system, and chart a brighter future for our people and community.
Q. Why academic medicine?
Huang: When I came to the U.S., I chose a neuroscience lab at Purdue University, based on my limited lab experience as a student in China. I had a very productive graduate career, and when I finally was able to start my internship and think about residency, I realized that my scientific background would be most attractive to academic neurology programs. In addition, one of my mentors predicted that neurology was going to expand dramatically with new knowledge and new treatments, and it would be an exciting place for a career. He was right.
Q. What inspired you to become a doctor?
Huang: I was born and raised in China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution; it was a time when science and reasoning had been driven away, and along with them, the intellectual class (including my older sister). After the Mao era ended, his successor, Deng Xiaoping, began to re-emphasize education and also open China’s doors to the western world. It was against this backdrop that I began my schooling. I was the first in my family to go to high school, or to college.
I was only sixteen when I started medical school in Beijing. Initially, I was enthralled by math – I liked chemistry and physics, but I really dreamed of being a mathematician and competing on the Chinese Olympic Math Team. However, we lived in rural Beijing, and my parents didn’t understand how math would do good for people. Being a doctor was something tangible, so they wanted me to pursue medicine.
Q. What’s the most exciting thing happening in your field right now?
Huang: In my field of Parkinson’s disease research, we are on the verge of having a precise biomarker to diagnose Parkinson’s disease and differentiate it from other Parkinson’s disease look-a-like disorders. I am especially excited that some of my team’s efforts have contributed to a new generation of treatment for Parkinson’s disease that should be available within the next year or so.
My hope that these new marker(s) of neurological disease will provide better understanding of disease progression in humans. This new era of biomarker-guided research will bridge the gaps between clinical practice and basic scientific discovery. Together, it propels us to new era of neurology practice aimed to prolonging both life- and health-span of our patients.
Q. What are some goals you would like to achieve during your time at UVA School of Medicine?
Huang: I would feel that we had done some good if the following can be achieved:
- Improve our community’s access to neurology clinical care and the opportunities to participate in cutting-edge clinical research;
- Help accelerate new research findings into improvements in clinical care by encouraging more clinical and translational studies;
- Empower our neurology workforce to be leaders in innovation for clinical delivery, for education and training, and of course, for research; and
- Strengthen the connections of our clinicians to the fabulous scientists who work on Grounds. This includes not only basic neuroscientists, but scholars in other disciplines including public health, social scientists, engineers, and technology experts.
Q. What’s your favorite part of your job?
Huang: So far, it has been getting to know the people around me, learning about the path that brought them here, and, most importantly, hearing about their big ideas and dreams for the future.
Q. What is one thing you wish your patients or co-workers knew about you before they met you?
Huang: I am very forward-thinking with many aspiration goals and dreams. Yet, on Grounds and in my daily life, I am very practical with a solution -based mindset.
Q. If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring healthcare professionals, what would it be?
Huang: Be curious about others around you, learn about their stories and past, regardless of their rank and position. We often forget that each of us brings with us different experiences, yet everyone has had obstacles to jump over, as well as people who helped propel them. Sharing our stories can help bring more humanity to our daily lives and work.
Q. How do you spend your time away from work? Hobbies?
Huang: I love reading, gardening, Zumba, swimming, and I am trying to become proficient at pickleball. Reading transports me into new minds and new worlds. Gardening connects me with nature and allows me to get dirty. Zumba connects me with my body and a friendly, happy community, while pickleball connects my love of ping-pong and tennis.
Q. How would you describe yourself in one word?
Huang: Forward-looking
Q. Who is your inspiration or hero?
Huang: There is not one single person. I have grown to appreciate my parents and how they have adapted and thrived throughout their amazing lives. There are several wonderful mentors without whose advice I don’t know where I would be. I have promised myself that I will honor all of them by paying forward for their love and help.
Filed Under: Faculty