Erik K. Henricson

I’m Erik Henricson, today I am an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Physical Medicine conducting research in the rare childhood disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  After getting a master’s degree in Public Health and working in a research lab for 10 years in Washington, DC, I earned my PhD in Human Development at UC Davis.  While in DC, I worked with my major professor from UCD on a large muscular dystrophy-related project, and when he invited me to join his lab, it was a great opportunity for me to expand my expertise in pediatric neuromuscular disease epidemiology and clinical trials. 

Coming to Davis from Washington, DC was a big move for my wife and 2 kids, and when I had the opportunity to come to UCD to study, we first visited campus and vacationed in Tahoe and San Francisco as a family to decide if California was a good fit for us.  I was an older student with experience in research, and had an opportunity to add a human development focus to my ongoing projects.  Being a parent, full-time student and active researcher was one of the most challenging but also most rewarding periods in my life, and it was truly a whole-family effort and commitment.  Looking back, it was the best decision we could have made, and I am grateful for the welcoming environment, support and work that the UCD Human Development group and the PM&R department provided to help me succeed.