Dr. Josh Bonkowsky is a professor of Pediatric Neurology (Pediatrics) and of Neurology. His undergraduate training was at Harvard Ï㽶ÊÓƵ; he obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of California, San Diego, and did his Pediatrics and Neurology/Pediatric Neurology training at the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ of Utah and Boston Children's Hospital.
Dr. Bonkowsky is engaged in both clinical and basic science studies. His clinical studies are focused on understanding the clinical features of leukodystrophies, and on the genetics of complex human neurobehavioral traits, especially language impairments. Dr. Bonkowsky's clinical research group is investigating the genetics of leukodystrophies, using both local (Utah Population Database) and national databases, to understand the genetic and medical impacts of these disorders.
Research in the Bonkowsky laboratory investigates human neurogenetic diseases, specifically diseases of basal ganglia function and white matter diseases. His group has developed zebrafish models of human language disorders (the FOXP2 gene); transgenic lines to study basal ganglia development connectivity; and a zebrafish Parkinson's disease model. Besides the basic neurodevelopmental research, his lab is generating disease models for high-throughput drug discovery.
On sunny afternoons, Dr. Bonkowsky enjoys trail running and learning to skate ski.