Puneet Opal, MD, PhD

Puneet Opal Photo

Neurologist, Neurogeneticist
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Physiology

303 East Chicago Ave, Ward 10-332
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 695-7950
p-opal@northwestern.edu
Research Profile

Background
Fellowship Movement Disorders/Genetics of Neurodegeneration, Baylor College of Medicine
Residency Neurology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Internship Internal Medicine, St. Francis Hospital, Evanston
Medical Degree Medicine, University of Poona (India)
Clinical Interests Movement Disorders, Ataxias, Neurogenetics, General Neurology
Research Interests Genetic neurodegenerative syndromes, Cerebellar disorders.
Biography

Dr. Opal is a clinical specialist in movement disorders. He oversees a large clinical practice of patients with ataxia. His particular interest is the hereditary forms of ataxia, such as the Spinocerebellar Ataxias (SCA).

Dr. Opal dedicates a large amount of time to both clinical and basic laboratory research, with the goal of understanding the genetic and molecular basis of ataxia. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on ataxia. At Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Opal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Neurology.

Dr. Opal is Board certified in Neurology and is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the American Academy of Neurology. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from Northwestern University Medical School, and his MD from the University of Poona in India.
Selected Publications
  • Paganoni S, Seelaus CA, Ormond KE, Opal P. Association of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 and spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 microsatellite expansions: Genetic counseling implications. Mov Disord. 2007 Nov 6; [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available.
  • Cvetanovic M, Rooney RJ, Garcia JJ, Toporovskaya N, Zoghbi HY, Opal P. The role of LANP and ataxin 1 in E4F-mediated transcriptional repression. EMBO Rep. 2007 Jul;8(7):671-7. Epub 2007 Jun 8.
  • Paganoni S, Naidech AM, Opal P. Huntington's disease presenting as postsurgical psychosis. Mov Disord. 2007 Jun 15;22(8):1209-10. No abstract available.
  • Opal P, Garcia JJ, McCall AE, Xu B, Weeber EJ, Sweatt JD, Orr HT, Zoghbi HY. Generation and characterization of LANP/pp32 null mice.
    Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Apr;24(8):3140-9.
  • Opal P, Garcia JJ, Propst F, Matilla A, Orr HT, Zoghbi HY. Mapmodulin/leucine-rich acidic nuclear protein binds the light chain of microtubule-associated protein 1B and modulates neuritogenesis. J Biol Chem. 2003 Sep 5;278(36):34691-9. Epub 2003 Jun 14.
  • Opal P, Zoghbi HY. The role of chaperones in polyglutamine disease. Trends Mol Med. 2002 May;8(5):232-6. Review.
  • Opal P, Tintner R, Jankovic J, Leung J, Breakefield XO, Friedman J, Ozelius L. Intrafamilial phenotypic variability of the DYT1 dystonia: from asymptomatic TOR1A gene carrier status to dystonic storm. Mov Disord. 2002 Mar;17(2):339-45.

Faculty and Staff