Eric Siemers, MD

Eric Siemers, M.D. has performed clinical research in neurodegenerative disease for over 25 years.  After completing his residency in the Department of Neurology at Indiana University in 1986, he founded and headed the Indiana University Movement Disorder Clinic.  His research there included investigations of Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease; he played a major role in one of the first studies of at-risk Huntington’s disease, and he established one of the first centers for surgical PD treatments in the US.  In 1998, Dr. Siemers joined Eli Lilly and Company and rose to the rank of Distinguished Medical Fellow.  While at Lilly, he first performed studies of investigational medications for Alzheimer’s disease in early phase clinical trials, and subsequently joined the late phase Alzheimer’s Disease Global Development Team.  In this capacity Dr. Siemers was responsible for the design and implementation of 5 large phase 3 studies of AD sponsored by Lilly, in addition to playing a major collaborative role in 2 public-private partnerships. 

Major research interests include the use of biomarkers in investigational drug research, the development of trial designs that fully characterize the effects of investigational drugs on chronic diseases, and more specifically the development of strategies for treating individuals before the onset of symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Siemers was a founding member of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable which he chaired from 2014-2017. He has served as a member of the Steering Committee for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which is funded by the National Institute on Aging and a consortium of pharmaceutical companies and served as the chair of the Industry Scientific Advisory Board for ADNI in 2007.  He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Experimental Neurotherapeutics.  Dr. Siemers participated as a member of the NIA/Alzheimer’s Association working group that proposed criteria for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease in 2011; he is a member of the subsequent working group that published a “Research Framework” for nomenclature using biomarkers and clinical symptoms for the entire Alzheimer’s disease continuum.

Dr. Siemers is currently a consultant for a variety of efforts regarding the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases.