Scientific Advisory Board

Martin M. Bednar, M.D., Ph.D., FAANS

Martin M. Bednar, M.D., Ph.D., FAANS, has dedicated over three decades to pioneering treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. Following graduation from New York Medical College as the first M.D., Ph.D. awardee, he subsequently completed a neurosurgery residency with board certification in Neurological Surgery and is recognized as a Fellow in the American Association Neurological Surgeons (FAANS).

Starting his career as an academic neurosurgeon, Dr. Bednar was appointed as the Head of Surgical Research at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, with dual appointments as an Associate Professor in the department of Surgery and the department of Pharmacology. With a primary focus on cerebrovascular diseases, his research led to the discovery of the third pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism in human neutrophils. This led to several patents for the elucidation of 16-R HETE as the most potent endogenous inhibitor of neutrophil function. Parallel research efforts advanced the understanding of the role of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in acute stroke.

In transitioning from academia to Pharma (Pfizer Inc), Dr. Bednar continued to embody a mindset of microsurgical precision with scientific rigor, bringing his ‘bench-to-bedside’ expertise, strategic focus and foresight to drug development. While continuing to pursue therapies for stroke and for traumatic brain injury, his interests and skills expanded to include clinical drug development for a wide range of neurological disorders. Dr. Bednar led numerous clinical programs across neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders, immunotherapy, and neurodegeneration/ neurorestoration, including creating and executing the first clinical trial for age-related hearing loss and advancing one of the early clinical trials for the treatment of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). His seminal work on drug-induced QT prolongation was instrumental in the approval of Geodon for the treatment of schizophrenia. In 2017, Dr. Bednar joined Takeda Pharmaceuticals as Vice President, Neuroscience, bringing his extensive experience to lead global programs for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and other disease areas involving both small molecules and biologics such as monoclonal antibodies and fusion proteins. He is also the director of the Takeda MGH-Neuroscience Fellowship Program, nurturing the next generation of neuroscience leaders. His mission statement reflects a profound commitment to servant leadership, innovation in medicine, and individual development—a synergy of creativity and pragmatism underscored by tenacity and data-driven rigor. Dr. Bednar maintains an extensive network of academic and pharma colleagues/collaborators and has published over 90 research articles, book chapters, reviews and scientific opinion pieces.