Rate My Professor Michael Johnson

Professor Michael Johnson is Professor of Neurology and Genomic Medicine in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine, previously known as Imperial College School of Medicine. He earned his MBBS from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School and DPhil in molecular genetics from the University of Oxford, along with MRCP, FRACP, and FRCP qualifications after training in the UK and Australia. As an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, he specializes in neurology and epilepsy, maintaining an active clinical practice focused on autoimmune and tumour-associated epilepsies. Johnson brings over 20 years of experience as a Principal Investigator and consultant clinical neurologist, complemented by more than 15 years in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, from basic science to clinical development and drug trials. Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Head of the Centre for Clinical Translation in the Division of Brain Sciences and Honorary Reader in Neurogenetics. He holds fellowships in the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) and Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), and memberships in the Royal Society of Medicine, Association of British Neurologists, British Medical Association, and International League Against Epilepsy.

Johnson's research centers on computational biology and systems genetics to pinpoint cell-type specific causal pathways and novel drug targets for human brain diseases and behavior, employing integrative genomics, single-cell Mendelian randomization, and single-cell transcriptomics of the human brain. He pioneered applied systems biology for drug target and biomarker discovery, authoring over 100 journal articles and book chapters in prestigious outlets such as Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Neuroscience, and Nature Communications. He leads the Landmark project, a major initiative with Parkinson’s UK Brain Bank, GSK, Roche, and others to develop disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s disease. His grants include a 4-year MRC Industrial CASE PhD Studentship with GlaxoSmithKline in 2013, nearly £100,000 from Parkinson’s UK Drug Accelerator Award in 2024, and selection for the SPARK NS Program 2026. In 2021, he co-founded Cosyne Therapeutics, where he serves as CMO and advisor.