In Memoriam: Elizabeth O'Hearn, M.D.

Dear Colleagues,

We mourn the sudden loss of our friend and colleague, Elizabeth O'Hearn, M.D., who passed away on Nov. 15 at age 53. She was a dedicated physician, teacher and researcher in the Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, and made a significant impact on the field of neurological disorders.

Raised in Connecticut, Dr. O'Hearn received an undergraduate degree in biology at Yale University before coming to Johns Hopkins, where she graduated in 1985 from the school of medicine.  For the following year, she served as a neuroscience research fellow at Hopkins. She went on to complete her residency in medicine at Yale University Hospital, followed by a neurology residency at Hopkins in 1994. Afterward, she served as a research fellow in neuroscience, through 1997, the next year serving as instructor of neurology. She later worked as an assistant professor of neurology and neuroscience, from 1997 to 2009, and collaborated with the late Dr. Mark Molliver, a professor emeritus of neuroscience and neurology, on more than 15 research publications.

In her role as an assistant professor of neurology, Dr. O'Hearn helped care for people with Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, such as ataxia, the inability to coordinate muscle activity. She was also an expert in the developing nervous system, with a particular interest in how drugs could alter progression of neurologic dysfunction. She conducted research on mechanisms of nerve cell injury, nerve toxicity and neurodegenerative diseases, such as the spinocerebellar ataxias, a form of genetically determined neurological disease.

With other investigators, Dr. O’Hearn identified and characterized forms of ataxia termed SCA-12 and HDL-2. Working alongside Dr. Molliver, she developed an animal model of toxicity of critical cerebellar nerve cells (Purkinje cells) and showed that specific environmental toxins or certain drugs could damage these cells. Her work held promise that the therapeutic targets could be manipulated pharmacologically to prevent neuronal damage in human cerebellar disorders.

A Johns Hopkins memorial service is being planned. Details will be forthcoming.

Please join me in extending our deepest condolences to her mother, sister, four brothers, other family and friends.

Justin C. McArthur, M.B.B.S., M.P.H.
Professor of Neurology, Pathology, Medicine and Epidemiology
Director, Department of Neurology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Neurologist-in-chief, The Johns Hopkins Hospital