Our Research Center
In 2011 Dr. Murray Grossman created the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center (Penn FTD Center). Located in Philadelphia, this state-of-the-art research center brings together leading experts in neuropsychology, neuroimaging, clinical care, biofluid biomarkers, and cognitive neuroscience in an effort to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and care for individuals with FTD.
The Penn FTD Center also works in close collaboration with the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease (CNDR) Neuropathology and Genetics Cores and with other neurodegenerative disease centers at the University of Pennsylvania. These include the Penn Memory Center, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Center, and the Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research. All of these centers have a rich history of collaboration and have contributed many important discoveries to our understanding of neurodegenerative disease, and especially Frontotemporal degeneration.
The Penn FTD Center provides an excellent training environment for undergraduate students, graduate students, clinical fellows, and research fellows to facilitate the education of the next generation of world-leading Frontotemporal degeneration experts.
Statement of Diversity
and Inclusion
The Penn FTD Center (FTDC) strongly affirms diversity and inclusiveness in our center, in the families we serve, in the University of Pennsylvania, and in biomedical research. We recognize that justice requires that we at the FTDC work to better defend and reflect the diversity of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and national origin that enriches our community. We abhor the division and violence that deny the full humanity of all members of our society. Diversity and inclusion are values that are imperative to the work we do at the Penn FTD Center.
We acknowledge that scientific studies underrepresent minority communities, including the Black community and the elderly. The FTDC strives to make research and neurological care more accessible. Several members of our center are involved in the Department of Neurology’s Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (IDARE) Program. The IDARE mission is to create and sustain a diverse, inclusive, and antiracist culture that ensures equitable treatment of patients at the University of Pennsylvania. We seek to serve whoever might suffer from FTD, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
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Honoring Penn FTDC Founder
Dr. Murray Grossman
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our colleague, Murray Grossman, MDCM, EdD, who passed away peacefully at home on April 4, 2023, surrounded by his family. Dr. Grossman was highly respected and cherished by many, especially the patients and families he cared for. He made seminal contributions to the field of neurology and was a role model for all, embodying the tripartite mission for academic neurology. His impact on the field of neurology was extraordinary and the impact he made on a personal level to patients, families, trainees and research collaborators was enormous.
A neurology professor at the University of Pennsylvania for over three decades, Dr. Grossman authored or co-authored more than 600 scientific papers. Dr. Grossman focused his research on Alzheimer’s and related dementias, with a particular focus on young-onset dementias such as frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), leading Dr. Grossman to form the Penn FTD Center in 2010. The center convenes experts across a range of disciplines to improve FTD care, diagnosis, and treatments. It also offers clinical genetic counseling services for FTD – a particular passion of Dr. Grossman’s. Dr. Grossman felt extraordinarily strong about empowering caregivers of persons with FTD and was the first to organize a caregiver conference for FTD and related disorders which continues today on an annual basis.
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Dr. Grossman was an extraordinary mentor who considered his many trainees and collaborators friends and family. He brought together collaborators from various fields, emphasizing that a strong community is essential to achieve collective success in our fields. Dr. Grossman's legacy will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the scientific community.
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The Penn FTD Center looks forward to honoring Dr. Grossman’s legacy by continuing to provide world- class clinical management of FTD and young-onset dementias as well as cutting-edge research to advance our understanding and treatment of these disorders.
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If you would like to make a memorial donation to the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) Center to continue Dr. Grossman's work, please consider a donation securely online here.