Ronald J. Ellis, MD, PhD 

Dr. Ellis’s clinical work and research focus on the neurological manifestations of HIV infection and their pathogenesis and treatment, particularly dementia, neurocognitive disorders and sensory polyneuropathy. 

He is Associate Director of the NIMH-funded P03 HIV Neurobehavioral Research Programs (HNRP) and PI of its Neuromedical Core, which is comprised of two interacting subunits, a Clinical Research Support Unit (CRSU) and a Laboratory, Pharmacology and Biomarker Unit (LPBU).  

He also serves as co-director of the multicenter CNS HIV AntiRetroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study and the Translational Methamphetamine AIDS Research Center (TMARC) at UCSD. TMARC comprises an integrated program of human clinical, neuroimaging, laboratory and animal model investigations being conducted at UCSD, The Sanford-Burnham Institute, and the Scripps Institute. 

As a physician scientist, Dr. Ellis brings to UCSD a variety of industry- and NIH- supported clinical trials. These trials are designed to evaluate the efficacy of new treatments for HIV neurocognitive disorders and dementia, such as memantine, selegiline and minocycline, and for HIV-associated, painful distal sensory polyneuropathy, such as prosaptide, pregabalin and capsaicin.

With funding from the California State Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR), he conducted a Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial of Medicinal Cannabis in Painful HIV Neuropathy.

He has held leadership positions in numerous NIH-funded clinical trials networks, including the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG).  He is frequently consulted by the National Institutes of Health to serve on advisory boards, grant review committees, and other expert bodies.

Dr. Ellis reviews manuscripts for more than a dozen clinical and basic science journals including the Annals of Neurology, JAMA, Neurology, Neuroscience Letters, the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, and AIDS.

He continues to make significant contributions to international research on neuroAIDS, serving as a co-investigator or consultant on projects in Romania, Cameroon, Nigeria and India. He serves as a grant reviewer for the NIH Fogarty International Program, “Brain Disorders in the Developing World” and as an ad hoc grant reviewer for Aids Fonds, Netherlands.

Visit the HIV Neurology website.

Dr. Ronald Ellis attended Boston University School of Medicine where he obtained his PhD and MD in 1989. He is board certified in Neurology and currently a Professor in the Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego.

Since 2003 he has served as Director of the Outpatient Neurology Service at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, where he engages in patient care activities and training of medical students, residents and post-doctoral fellows.

After successfully competing for a grant through UCSD’s Extending eXPertise to Areas in Need (EXPAND) program, he began providing specialty telemedicine evaluation services to the Desert AIDS Project (DAP).

Dr. Ellis also maintains a clinical presence at USD Medical Center and the VA Hospital, amounting to over 450 hours per year. He attends 4 weeks per year on the inpatient services at one or more of the hospitals, and he maintains a weekly outpatient clinic in which he specializes in seeing NeuroAIDS patients.

Dr. Ellis’s research looks at how pathological interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its human host result in nervous system diseases such as dementia and peripheral neuropathy. He has built an active NeuroAIDS clinical research program with a broad portfolio of studies in HIV dementia and sensory neuropathy.

Dr. Ellis directs a laboratory examining viral load and cytokines and chemokines in HIV. In addition, he is particularly talented at identifying and investigating international issues in HIV-neurocognitive disorders. He has recruited and is coorded studies at various locations, such as India, China, and Brazil.

His global view of the NeuroAIDS problem is a novel area for investigation in HIV-associated neurologic disorders. Dr. Ellis has paid particular attention to the mechanisms and treatment of HIV-related neurocognitive impairment and has authored several important papers in this area. His research revealed neuropathological abnormalities and markers of neurologic dysfunction in HIV infection, and the role of chemokines and other immune/host factors in HIV-related neurocognitive impairment. He also has authored important papers on factors influencing neurocognitive disorders in these patients, such as drug abuse.

Dr. Ellis serves as co-investigator for the large NIMH-funded “CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER)” study. This study, which has enrolled approximately 2200 subjects at 6 universities across the country, has yielded research that evaluates changes in the incidence of HIV-associated neurological disease after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Finally, Dr. Ellis is also involved in two clinical trials. The first is the CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) trial for which he his Co-Director. The other clinical trial studies brain injury in HIV infection. He is Protocol Vice-Chair on that trial.

Over his career, Dr. Ellis has published nearly 90 refereed scientific articles. Within the review period alone, he published 27 research articles, 2 review articles, and 1 invited chapter. Dr. Ellis’s publications are in high impact journals such as Annals of Neurology, Neurology, and Nature Review Neurosciences. Dr. Ellis has been successful in obtaining continuous NIH funding over his career and currently has research grants totaling approximately $11.5 million. He is principal investigator on his own RO1 which focuses on understanding the impact of CNS penetration of different antiretroviral regimens.