Derek Narendra, MD, PhD, is a recently tenured Senior Investigator in the NIH intramural program. Board-certified in Neurology, he treats patients with complex genetic movement disorders at the NIH Clinical Center.

Dr. Narendra’s research is distinguished not only by its profound impact but also by the depth and rigor with which he approaches cell biology. His meticulous and thorough investigations have led to groundbreaking discoveries, particularly in how cells sense and respond to mitochondrial damage. Early in his career, he uncovered a critical mitochondrial damage-sensing pathway involving the Parkinson’s disease genes PINK1 and Parkin, transforming the understanding of selective mitochondrial degradation through mitophagy. In his independent research, he identified how PINK1 senses diverse forms of mitochondrial damage in this pathway, demonstrating a unified mechanism for PINK1-Parkin activation. Through collaborations with industry, he has been translating these discoveries into a gene-directed therapy for recessive Parkinson’s.

In a related research direction, Dr. Narendra has revealed a novel mitochondrial stress-signaling pathway in muscle cells. Studying patients with mitochondrial damage due to CHCHD10 mutations, he identified OMA1 and DELE1 as key sensors of mitochondrial distress, triggering the mitochondrial integrated stress response. His work has demonstrated how this pathway governs transcriptional responses in mitochondrial myopathies and regulates the clinical biomarker FGF21. His thorough and pioneering research on CHCHD10-related neurodegeneration has been pivotal in developing a CHCHD10-targeting antisense oligonucleotide, now in clinical trials.

A dedicated mentor, Dr. Narendra leads a diverse group of trainees and serves on the Board of Advisors for the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program. He has been recognized with the 2020 and 2023 NINDS Director’s Awards for mentoring and received several prestigious awards, including the 2022 Grass Foundation Award from the American Neurological Association. His research program has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2017.