Dr. Josh Bonkowsky is an associate professor of Pediatric Neurology. His undergraduate training was at Harvard University; following a Fulbright Fellowship, he obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the University of California, San Diego, and did his Pediatrics and Neurology/Pediatric Neurology training at the University of Utah and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Bonkowsky is engaged in clinical, translational, and basic science studies. His clinical studies are focused on understanding the clinical features of leukodystrophies, on clinical trials for leukodystrophies, and on epilepsy genetics. Dr. Bonkowsky’s clinical research group is investigating the genetics of leukodystrophies, using both local (Utah Population Database) and national databases, to understand the genetic and medical impacts of these disorders.
Research in the Bonkowsky laboratory investigates human neurogenetic diseases, specifically diseases of prematurity and hypoxia, and leukodystrophies. His group has developed zebrafish models of Adrenoleukodystrophy and Vanishing White Matter disease; transgenic lines to study axon and synaptic connectivity; and a zebrafish model of developmental hypoxia associated with prematurity. Besides the basic neurodevelopmental research, his lab is generating disease models for high-throughput drug discovery.