Middle‑aged person with short, dark, wavy hair smiles softly at the camera. They are wearing a dark blue shirt, and the background shows a bright room with large windows and blurred office equipment.”

Thomas Schwarz, Ph.D.

Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology in the Department of Neurology
Boston Children's Hospital
Schwarz Lab Website

Thomas Schwarz, Ph.D. – Faculty Profile

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Title: Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology in the Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital.

The Aim

The Schwarz Lab studies the inner workings of neurons, including how they transport essential materials and how mitochondria sustain them. The lab aims to reveal how breakdowns in these processes contribute to disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and optic neuropathy.

The Impact

The Schwarz Lab investigates how nerve cells keep their many parts healthy and connected, focusing on how organelles like mitochondria or molecules like RNA are delivered across long distances. By uncovering the basics of nerve cell maintenance and transport, their work sheds light on how failures in these systems can lead to disorders like Parkinson’s disease and neuropathy. Their research bridges fundamental cell biology and neuroscience, helping to reveal how brain cells grow, adapt, and break down in both health and disease.

A Closer Look

Article: How Mitochondria Stay Still in Neurons , The Scientist, March 2024. This article explains how brain cells use a helper protein to hold their “power plants” (mitochondria) in the right spots so they can reliably fuel learning and memory.

Article: New Research Offers Hope to Preserve Vision in Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy , News Medical Life Sciences, July 2025. The article describes how Dr. Thomas Schwarz’s team discovered that shutting down a single protein called SARM1 in a mouse model can protect the eye’s vision‑carrying nerve cells, offering a promising new path to preserve sight in people with autosomal dominant optic atrophy.

Contact

Email: thomas.schwarz@childrens.harvard.edu
Lab website: www.schwarzlab.org

Publications View
Mitophagy of damaged mitochondria occurs locally in distal neuronal axons and requires PINK1 and Parkin.
Authors: Authors: Ashrafi G, Schlehe JS, LaVoie MJ, Schwarz TL.
J Cell Biol
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Glucose regulates mitochondrial motility via Milton modification by O-GlcNAc transferase.
Authors: Authors: Pekkurnaz G, Trinidad JC, Wang X, Kong D, Schwarz TL.
Cell
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Have you seen? For parkin, it's not all or nothing.
Authors: Authors: Shlevkov E, Schwarz TL.
EMBO J
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The paradox of paclitaxel neurotoxicity: Mechanisms and unanswered questions.
Authors: Authors: Gornstein E, Schwarz TL.
Neuropharmacology
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The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor is involved in UVR-induced immunosuppression.
Authors: Authors: Navid F, Bruhs A, Schuller W, Fritsche E, Krutmann J, Schwarz T, Schwarz A.
J Invest Dermatol
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Ral mediates activity-dependent growth of postsynaptic membranes via recruitment of the exocyst.
Authors: Authors: Teodoro RO, Pekkurnaz G, Nasser A, Higashi-Kovtun ME, Balakireva M, McLachlan IG, Camonis J, Schwarz TL.
EMBO J
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Mitochondrial trafficking in neurons.
Authors: Authors: Schwarz TL.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol
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Search for supersymmetry with like-sign lepton-tau events at CDF.
Authors: Authors: Aaltonen T, Amerio S, Amidei D, Anastassov A, Annovi A, Antos J, Apollinari G, Appel JA, Arisawa T, Artikov A, Asaadi J, Ashmanskas W, Auerbach B, Aurisano A, Azfar F, Badgett W, Bae T, Barbaro-Galtieri A, Barnes VE, Barnett BA, Barria P, Bartos P, Bauce M, Bedeschi F, Behari S, Bellettini G, Bellinger J, Benjamin D, Beretvas A, Bhatti A, Bland KR, Blumenfeld B, Bocci A, Bodek A, Bortoletto D, Boudreau J, Boveia A, Brigliadori L, Bromberg C, Brucken E, Budagov J, Budd HS, Burkett K, Busetto G, Bussey P, Butti P, Buzatu A, Calamba A, Camarda S, Campanelli M, Canelli F, Carls B, Carlsmith D, Carosi R, Carrillo S, Casal B, Casarsa M, Castro A, Catastini P, Cauz D, Cavaliere V, Cavalli-Sforza M, Cerri A, Cerrito L, Chen YC, Chertok M, Chiarelli G, Chlachidze G, Cho K, Chokheli D, Ciocci MA, Clark A, Clarke C, Convery ME, Conway J, Corbo M, Cordelli M, Cox CA, Cox DJ, Cremonesi M, Cruz D, Cuevas J, Culbertson R, d'Ascenzo N, Datta M, De Barbaro P, Demortier L, Deninno M, d'Errico M, Devoto F, Di Canto A, Di Ruzza B, Dittmann JR, D'Onofrio M, Donati S, Dorigo M, Driutti A, Ebina K, Edgar R, Elagin A, Erbacher R, Errede S, Esham B, Eusebi R, Farrington S, Fernández Ramos JP, Field R, Flanagan G, Forrest R, Franklin M, Freeman JC, Frisch H, Funakoshi Y, Garfinkel AF, Garosi P, Gerberich H, Gerchtein E, Giagu S, Giakoumopoulou V, Gibson K, Ginsburg CM, Giokaris N, Giromini P, Giurgiu G, Glagolev V, Glenzinski D, Gold M, Goldin D, Golossanov A, Gomez G, Gomez-Ceballos G, Goncharov M, González López O, Gorelov I, Goshaw AT, Goulianos K, Gramellini E, Grinstein S, Grosso-Pilcher C, Group RC, Guimaraes da Costa J, Hahn SR, Han JY, Happacher F, Hara K, Hare M, Harr RF, Harrington-Taber T, Hatakeyama K, Hays C, Heinrich J, Herndon M, Hocker A, Hong Z, Hopkins W, Hou S, Hughes RE, Husemann U, Hussein M, Huston J, Introzzi G, Iori M, Ivanov A, James E, Jang D, Jayatilaka B, Jeon EJ, Jindariani S, Jones M, Joo KK, Jun SY, Junk TR, Kambeitz M, Kamon T, Karchin PE, Kasmi A, Kato Y, Ketchum W, Keung J, Kilminster B, Kim DH, Kim HS, Kim JE, Kim MJ, Kim SB, Kim SH, Kim YJ, Kim YK, Kimura N, Kirby M, Knoepfel K, Kondo K, Kong DJ, Konigsberg J, Kotwal AV, Kreps M, Kroll J, Kruse M, Kuhr T, Kurata M, Laasanen AT, Lammel S, Lancaster M, Lannon K, Latino G, Lee HS, Lee JS, Leo S, Leone S, Lewis JD, Limosani A, Lipeles E, Lister A, Liu H, Liu Q, Liu T, Lockwitz S, Loginov A, Lucà A, Lucchesi D, Lueck J, Lujan P, Lukens P, Lungu G, Lys J, Lysak R, Madrak R, Maestro P, Malik S, Manca G, Manousakis-Katsikakis A, Margaroli F, Marino P, Martínez M, Matera K, Mattson ME, Mazzacane A, Mazzanti P, McNulty R, Mehta A, Mehtala P, Mesropian C, Miao T, Mietlicki D, Mitra A, Miyake H, Moed S, Moggi N, Moon CS, Moore R, Morello MJ, Mukherjee A, Muller T, Murat P, Mussini M, Nachtman J, Nagai Y, Naganoma J, Nakano I, Napier A, Nett J, Neu C, Nigmanov T, Nodulman L, Noh SY, Norniella O, Oakes L, Oh SH, Oh YD, Oksuzian I, Okusawa T, Orava R, Ortolan L, Pagliarone C, Palencia E, Palni P, Papadimitriou V, Parker W, Pauletta G, Paulini M, Paus C, Phillips TJ, Piacentino G, Pianori E, Pilot J, Pitts K, Plager C, Pondrom L, Poprocki S, Potamianos K, Pranko A, Prokoshin F, Ptohos F, Punzi G, Ranjan N, Redondo Fernández I, Renton P, Rescigno M, Rimondi F, Ristori L, Robson A, Rodriguez T, Rolli S, Ronzani M, Roser R, Rosner JL, Ruffini F, Ruiz A, Russ J, Rusu V, Sakumoto WK, Sakurai Y, Santi L, Sato K, Saveliev V, Savoy-Navarro A, Schlabach P, Schmidt EE, Schwarz T, Scodellaro L, Scuri F, Seidel S, Seiya Y, Semenov A, Sforza F, Shalhout SZ, Shears T, Shepard PF, Shimojima M, Shochet M, Shreyber-Tecker I, Simonenko A, Sinervo P, Sliwa K, Smith JR, Snider FD, Song H, Sorin V, Stancari M, St Denis R, Stelzer B, Stelzer-Chilton O, Stentz D, Strologas J, Sudo Y, Sukhanov A, Suslov I, Takemasa K, Takeuchi Y, Tang J, Tecchio M, Teng PK, Thom J, Thomson E, Thukral V, Toback D, Tokar S, Tollefson K, Tomura T, Tonelli D, Torre S, Torretta D, Totaro P, Trovato M, Ukegawa F, et al.
Phys Rev Lett
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Search for resonant top-antitop production in the lepton plus jets decay mode using the full CDF data set.
Authors: Authors: Aaltonen T, Amerio S, Amidei D, Anastassov A, Annovi A, Antos J, Apollinari G, Appel JA, Arisawa T, Artikov A, Asaadi J, Ashmanskas W, Auerbach B, Aurisano A, Azfar F, Badgett W, Bae T, Barbaro-Galtieri A, Barnes VE, Barnett BA, Barria P, Bartos P, Bauce M, Bedeschi F, Behari S, Bellettini G, Bellinger J, Benjamin D, Beretvas A, Bhatti A, Bland KR, Blumenfeld B, Bocci A, Bodek A, Bortoletto D, Boudreau J, Boveia A, Brigliadori L, Bromberg C, Brucken E, Budagov J, Budd HS, Burkett K, Busetto G, Bussey P, Butti P, Buzatu A, Calamba A, Camarda S, Campanelli M, Canelli F, Carls B, Carlsmith D, Carosi R, Carrillo S, Casal B, Casarsa M, Castro A, Catastini P, Cauz D, Cavaliere V, Cavalli-Sforza M, Cerri A, Cerrito L, Chen YC, Chertok M, Chiarelli G, Chlachidze G, Cho K, Chokheli D, Ciocci MA, Clark A, Clarke C, Convery ME, Conway J, Corbo M, Cordelli M, Cox CA, Cox DJ, Cremonesi M, Cruz D, Cuevas J, Culbertson R, d'Ascenzo N, Datta M, De Barbaro P, Demortier L, Deninno M, Devoto F, d'Errico M, Di Canto A, Di Ruzza B, Dittmann JR, D'Onofrio M, Donati S, Dorigo M, Driutti A, Ebina K, Edgar R, Elagin A, Erbacher R, Errede S, Esham B, Eusebi R, Farrington S, Fernández Ramos JP, Field R, Flanagan G, Forrest R, Franklin M, Freeman JC, Frisch H, Funakoshi Y, Garfinkel AF, Garosi P, Gerberich H, Gerchtein E, Giagu S, Giakoumopoulou V, Gibson K, Ginsburg CM, Giokaris N, Giromini P, Giurgiu G, Glagolev V, Glenzinski D, Gold M, Goldin D, Golossanov A, Gomez G, Gomez-Ceballos G, Goncharov M, González López O, Gorelov I, Goshaw AT, Goulianos K, Gramellini E, Grinstein S, Grosso-Pilcher C, Group RC, Guimaraes da Costa J, Hahn SR, Han JY, Happacher F, Hara K, Hare M, Harr RF, Harrington-Taber T, Hatakeyama K, Hays C, Heinrich J, Herndon M, Hocker A, Hong Z, Hopkins W, Hou S, Hughes RE, Husemann U, Hussein M, Huston J, Introzzi G, Iori M, Ivanov A, James E, Jang D, Jayatilaka B, Jeon EJ, Jindariani S, Jones M, Joo KK, Jun SY, Junk TR, Kambeitz M, Kamon T, Karchin PE, Kasmi A, Kato Y, Ketchum W, Keung J, Kilminster B, Kim DH, Kim HS, Kim JE, Kim MJ, Kim SB, Kim SH, Kim YK, Kim YJ, Kimura N, Kirby M, Knoepfel K, Kondo K, Kong DJ, Konigsberg J, Kotwal AV, Kreps M, Kroll J, Kruse M, Kuhr T, Kurata M, Laasanen AT, Lammel S, Lancaster M, Lannon K, Latino G, Lee HS, Lee JS, Leo S, Leone S, Lewis JD, Limosani A, Lipeles E, Liu H, Liu Q, Liu T, Lockwitz S, Loginov A, Lucchesi D, Lueck J, Lujan P, Lukens P, Lungu G, Lys J, Lysak R, Madrak R, Maestro P, Malik S, Manca G, Manousakis-Katsikakis A, Margaroli F, Marino P, Martínez M, Matera K, Mattson ME, Mazzacane A, Mazzanti P, McNulty R, Mehta A, Mehtala P, Mesropian C, Miao T, Mietlicki D, Mitra A, Miyake H, Moed S, Moggi N, Moon CS, Moore R, Morello MJ, Mukherjee A, Muller T, Murat P, Mussini M, Nachtman J, Nagai Y, Naganoma J, Nakano I, Napier A, Nett J, Neu C, Nigmanov T, Nodulman L, Noh SY, Norniella O, Oakes L, Oh SH, Oh YD, Oksuzian I, Okusawa T, Orava R, Ortolan L, Pagliarone C, Palencia E, Palni P, Papadimitriou V, Parker W, Pauletta G, Paulini M, Paus C, Phillips TJ, Piacentino G, Pianori E, Pilot J, Pitts K, Plager C, Pondrom L, Poprocki S, Potamianos K, Prokoshin F, Pranko A, Ptohos F, Punzi G, Ranjan N, Redondo Fernández I, Renton P, Rescigno M, Riddick T, Rimondi F, Ristori L, Robson A, Rodriguez T, Rolli S, Ronzani M, Roser R, Rosner JL, Ruffini F, Ruiz A, Russ J, Rusu V, Safonov A, Sakumoto WK, Sakurai Y, Santi L, Sato K, Saveliev V, Savoy-Navarro A, Schlabach P, Schmidt EE, Schwarz T, Scodellaro L, Scuri F, Seidel S, Seiya Y, Semenov A, Sforza F, Shalhout SZ, Shears T, Shepard PF, Shimojima M, Shochet M, Shreyber-Tecker I, Simonenko A, Sinervo P, Sliwa K, Smith JR, Snider FD, Sorin V, Song H, Stancari M, St Denis R, Stelzer B, Stelzer-Chilton O, Stentz D, Strologas J, Sudo Y, Sukhanov A, Suslov I, Takemasa K, Takeuchi Y, Tang J, Tecchio M, Teng PK, Thom J, Thomson E, Thukral V, Toback D, Tokar S, Tollefson K, Tomura T, Tonelli D, Torre S, Torretta D, Totaro P, Trovato M, Ukegawa F, et al.
Phys Rev Lett
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Search for a two-Higgs-boson doublet using a simplified model in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV.
Authors: Authors: Aaltonen T, Adelman J, Álvarez González B, Amerio S, Amidei D, Anastassov A, Annovi A, Antos J, Apollinari G, Appel JA, Arisawa T, Artikov A, Asaadi J, Ashmanskas W, Auerbach B, Aurisano A, Azfar F, Badgett W, Bae T, Barbaro-Galtieri A, Barnes VE, Barnett BA, Barria P, Bartos P, Bauce M, Bedeschi F, Behari S, Bellettini G, Bellinger J, Benjamin D, Beretvas A, Bhatti A, Bisello D, Bizjak I, Bland KR, Blumenfeld B, Bocci A, Bodek A, Bortoletto D, Boudreau J, Boveia A, Brigliadori L, Bromberg C, Brucken E, Budagov J, Budd HS, Burkett K, Busetto G, Bussey P, Buzatu A, Calamba A, Calancha C, Camarda S, Campanelli M, Campbell M, Canelli F, Carls B, Carlsmith D, Carosi R, Carrillo S, Carron S, Casal B, Casarsa M, Castro A, Catastini P, Cauz D, Cavaliere V, Cavalli-Sforza M, Cerri A, Cerrito L, Chen YC, Chertok M, Chiarelli G, Chlachidze G, Chlebana F, Cho K, Chokheli D, Chung WH, Chung YS, Ciocci MA, Clark A, Clarke C, Compostella G, Convery ME, Conway J, Corbo M, Cordelli M, Cox CA, Cox DJ, Crescioli F, Cuevas J, Culbertson R, Dagenhart D, d'Ascenzo N, Datta M, de Barbaro P, Dell'Orso M, Demortier L, Deninno M, Devoto F, d'Errico M, Di Canto A, Di Ruzza B, Dittmann JR, D'Onofrio M, Donati S, Dong P, Dorigo M, Dorigo T, Ebina K, Elagin A, Eppig A, Erbacher R, Errede S, Ershaidat N, Eusebi R, Farrington S, Feindt M, Fernandez JP, Field R, Flanagan G, Forrest R, Frank MJ, Franklin M, Freeman JC, Funakoshi Y, Furic I, Gallinaro M, Garcia JE, Garfinkel AF, Garosi P, Gerberich H, Gerchtein E, Giagu S, Giakoumopoulou V, Giannetti P, Gibson K, Ginsburg CM, Giokaris N, Giromini P, Giurgiu G, Glagolev V, Glenzinski D, Gold M, Goldin D, Goldschmidt N, Golossanov A, Gomez G, Gomez-Ceballos G, Goncharov M, González O, Gorelov I, Goshaw AT, Goulianos K, Grinstein S, Grosso-Pilcher C, Group RC, Guimaraes da Costa J, Hahn SR, Halkiadakis E, Hamaguchi A, Han JY, Happacher F, Hara K, Hare D, Hare M, Harr RF, Hatakeyama K, Hays C, Heck M, Heinrich J, Herndon M, Hewamanage S, Hocker A, Hopkins W, Horn D, Hou S, Hughes RE, Hurwitz M, Husemann U, Hussain N, Hussein M, Huston J, Introzzi G, Iori M, Ivanov A, James E, Jang D, Jayatilaka B, Jeon EJ, Jindariani S, Johnstone A, Jones M, Joo KK, Jun SY, Junk TR, Kamon T, Karchin PE, Kasmi A, Kato Y, Ketchum W, Keung J, Khotilovich V, Kilminster B, Kim DH, Kim HS, Kim JE, Kim MJ, Kim SB, Kim SH, Kim YK, Kim YJ, Kimura N, Kirby M, Klimenko S, Knoepfel K, Kondo K, Kong DJ, Konigsberg J, Kotwal AV, Kreps M, Kroll J, Krop D, Kruse M, Krutelyov V, Kuhr T, Kurata M, Kwang S, Laasanen AT, Lami S, Lammel S, Lancaster M, Lander RL, Lannon K, Lath A, Latino G, LeCompte T, Lee E, Lee HS, Lee JS, Lee SW, Leo S, Leone S, Lewis JD, Limosani A, Lin CJ, Lindgren M, Lipeles E, Lister A, Litvintsev DO, Liu C, Liu H, Liu Q, Liu T, Lockwitz S, Loginov A, Lucchesi D, Lueck J, Lujan P, Lukens P, Lungu G, Lys J, Lysak R, Madrak R, Maeshima K, Maestro P, Malik S, Manca G, Manousakis-Katsikakis A, Margaroli F, Marino C, Martínez M, Mastrandrea P, Matera K, Mattson ME, Mazzacane A, Mazzanti P, McFarland KS, McIntyre P, McNulty R, Mehta A, Mehtala P, Mesropian C, Miao T, Mietlicki D, Mitra A, Miyake H, Moed S, Moggi N, Mondragon MN, Moon CS, Moore R, Morello MJ, Morlock J, Movilla Fernandez P, Mukherjee A, Muller T, Murat P, Mussini M, Nachtman J, Nagai Y, Naganoma J, Nakano I, Napier A, Nett J, Neu C, Neubauer MS, Nielsen J, Nodulman L, Noh SY, Norniella O, Oakes L, Oh SH, Oh YD, Oksuzian I, Okusawa T, Orava R, Ortolan L, Pagan Griso S, Pagliarone C, Palencia E, Papadimitriou V, Paramonov AA, Patrick J, Pauletta G, Paulini M, Paus C, Pellett DE, Penzo A, Phillips TJ, Piacentino G, Pianori E, Pilot J, Pitts K, Plager C, Pondrom L, Poprocki S, Potamianos K, Prokoshin F, Pranko A, Ptohos F, Punzi G, Rahaman A, Ramakrishnan V, Ranjan N, Rao K, Redondo I, Renton P, Rescigno M, Riddick T, Rimondi F, Ristori L, Robson A, Rodrigo T, Rodriguez T, Rogers E, Rolli S, Roser R, Ruffini F, Ruiz A, Russ J, Rusu V, Safonov A, Sakumoto WK, et al.
Phys Rev Lett
View full abstract on Pubmed