Dr. Pardo is an Associate Professor of Neurology (Division of Neuroimmunology and Neuroinfectious Disorders) and Pathology (Neuropathology) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the principal investigator of the Neuroimmunopathology Laboratory, member of the HIV Neurosciences Research Group and clinical neurologist at the Multiple Sclerosis and Transverse Myelitis Centers at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His clinical specialization is on neuroimmunological and Infectious disorders of the nervous system, with particular focus on multiple sclerosis, myelitis, autoimmune disorders of the CNS and neurological complications of HIV infection. Dr. Pardo's research interest and laboratory work focuses on studies of the 1) Immunopathological and molecular mechanisms of associated with neuroimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, neuroAIDS and epilepsy and autism, 2) the role of cytokines and chemokines in neurobiological processes and pathogenic mechanisms in neurological disorders, 3) Studies of biomarkers of neruoimunological disease in cerebrospinal fluid and blood and 4) Animal models of neuroimmunological disorders. Dr. Pardo’s interest on autism centers on the role of neuroimmune factors in the pathogenesis of this neurodevelopmental disorder and the study of biomarkers. His laboratory has contributed to the study of the role of microglia activation in the cerebral cortex and the function of cytokines and chemokines as factors involved in neurobiological processes associated with disturbances of developmental and neurobehavioral trajectories that characterize autism. His laboratory is also working on the identification of CSF and blood biomarkers that may facilitate a better understanding of pathogenesis and phenotypic characterization of autism.