Dr. Swanson attended the University of Michigan and University of Michigan Medical School, and he completed a residency in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 1987. After residency, he completed research fellowships at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and at Stanford University, returning to UCSF and the SFVAMC as assistant professor in neurology in 1990. He is currently professor and vice-chair in the UCSF Neurology Dept., and chief of the Neurology and Rehabilitation service at the SFVAMC. His research focus has been in the area of oxidative stress and bioenergetics in neurological disease. Work accomplished in Dr. Swanson’s lab has identified the transporter protein EAAC1 as the primary route by which neurons take up cysteine for formation of the anti-oxidant, glutathione.