Dr. Grace Hobson, Ph.D.

Dr. Grace Hobson retired from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for children in 2016, but she remains affiliated as Principal Research Scientist Emeritus. Until retirement, she was Head of the Neurogenetics Research Laboratory and Director of Diagnostics for Leukodystrophies at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. She was also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware. She obtained a B.S. in biology from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA and an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She was a high school and junior high school science/biology teacher before getting a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in Newark and embarking on a career in research and molecular diagnostics.

Dr. Hobson’s research is aimed at understanding molecular mechanisms in PMD that will allow the development of rational treatments and ultimately a cure. During her career, she received grants from the National Institutes of Health, the PMD Foundation, the Kylan Hunter Foundation, and the Carson Scott Suter Foundation to fund this work. Dr. Hobson’s contact with families, genetic counselors, and physicians through her molecular diagnostics work has allowed her to refer families to the PMD Foundation for information and support. Dr. Hobson has participated in meetings, symposia, workshops and family conferences on PMD. In addition, she helped to organize the family meeting in 2000 that launched the PMD Foundation. She also hosted symposia for PMD families and researchers at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in 2003, 2009, and 2013, and a Virtual PMD Symposium in 2020.