Dwight German, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychiatry

In college, Dwight German, Ph.D., wanted to understand more about human behavior, so he pursued a degree in psychology. But a few years later, he changed his mind – and his life.

“What I really wanted to study was where behavior comes from,” he says. “I therefore wanted to study the brain.”

That realization launched a 50-year career at UT Southwestern where Dr. German has focused on conditions that affect the brain, from autism spectrum disorder to Alzheimer’s disease.

After graduating from Southern Methodist University, he went on to receive a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Then the Vietnam War occurred, and as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve, he was required to go on active duty, which occurred on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. After his service, he returned to the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in biological psychology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Following a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Regional Primate Research Center, Dr. German joined UTSW as an Assistant Professor of Physiology, and later in the Department of Psychiatry. For five decades, he says, the institution has offered many opportunities, including running his own lab and collaborating with Principal Investigators in other departments and at other institutions.

“I feel very fortunate that I have been able to stay here and be productive over the years,” he says. “I’m a lucky guy.”

Today, Dr. German says he is most proud of contributing to the development of blood tests for autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The tests, while not approved for clinical use yet, are very promising and could predict whether an individual is on the road to one of the diseases, he says.

“All these years of working, me and my colleagues have made small steps toward the understanding and treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but nothing momentous,” says Dr. German, Professor of Psychiatry. “But recently, this work has paid off with an FDA-approved blood test for Alzheimer’s and an exciting possible new treatment.” 

Dr. German says he has had many rewarding experiences working at UTSW, including collaborating with other neuroscientists and attending scientific meetings worldwide. Although he enjoys traveling, he is just as content to stay in Dallas, where he is a familiar face at the A.W. Harris Faculty-Alumni Center.

In fact, he eats there so much that his friends tease him about it and often ask if he ever gets tired of it. “The answer is no,” Dr. German says. Being Vice President on the Faculty Club Board of Directors might contribute to his fondness for the lunch spot, but he insists there is more to it than that.

“I like the atmosphere and the food,” he says. “And where else do you have the chance to have lunch sitting next to a Nobel Prize winner?”