NINDS Mourns Program Director Broome

NINDS mourns the loss of Dr. Ann-Marie Broome, a program director in its Division of Translational Research (DTR), who died Nov. 26 from pneumonia due to Covid-19.

Within DTR, Broome led the teams that launched two major, unique initiatives—the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network-Biologics (BPN-Biologics) Program and the Ultra-rare Gene-based Therapy (URGenT) Network. BPN-Biologics provides funding and resources for biotherapeutic drug discovery and development—from lead optimization through phase I clinical testing. URGenT supports the development of state-of-the-art gene-based therapies for ultra-rare neurological diseases, which affect as few as or fewer than 1 in 50,000 people.

“We were fortunate enough to work closely with Ann-Marie and see her leadership and commitment with the launch of URGenT,” said NINDS director Dr. Walter Koroshetz. “She exhibited resilience, dedication and facility at the intersection of science, industry and government, and, most of all, an easy smile with the ability to find humor even in the most difficult challenges.” 

Broome earned her bachelor of science degree in biology, chemistry and mathematics from Columbia College in South Carolina, and her Ph.D. in biomedical science from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in physiology and biophysics at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and earned her M.B.A. in health care administration and bioscience entrepreneurship from CWRU’s Weatherhead School of Management. 

Before joining NINDS, Broome served as an associate professor in the department of cell and molecular pharmacology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), director of the molecular imaging program in the Center for Biomedical Imaging and director of small animal imaging in the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center with secondary appointments in immunology, microbiology and neurosciences. She also held adjunct appointments at Clemson University and CWRU. In these roles, she worked on many translational aspects of cancer research including in vivo animal models, drug development, validation and precision medicine and mentored more than 70 students, residents and fellows of diverse academic levels, interests and backgrounds.

“Although it feels like she was taken from us far too soon, we are confident that her legacy will live on in BPN-Biologics, in URGenT and in the dedication, synergistic partnerships and passionate enterprise of NINDS,” Koroshetz said.

Broome is survived by numerous family members including her brother Kelley Broome and sister Amber Leigh Ott.