Scott Small

Dr. Small began the MD/PhD program at Columbia University in Eric Kandel’s laboratory after graduating NYU with a B.A. in experimental psychology. Discovering that he enjoyed patient care more than he anticipated, he decided to focus exclusively on his medical training. After completing a medical internship at UCLA, a neurology residency and chief residency at Columbia, and a fellowship with Richard Mayeux, Dr. Small “returned” to research. Informed by his prior experience studying the psychology of memory, the physiology of neurons, and the neurology of the disease he began a research program at Columbia dedicated to investigating intractable disorders of the brain. Taking a decidedly top-down approach, he pioneered the development of brain imaging tools designed to pinpoint brain dysfunction in human patients and mouse models of disease. More recently, Dr. Small has combined brain imaging with gene-expression technologies to uncover novel molecular defects underlying Alzheimer’s disease and aging.Dr. Small is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Beeson Scholar Award in Aging Research from the American Federation on Aging, the McKnight Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Award, the Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award from the American Neurological Association, and the Lamport Award for Excellence in Clinical Science Research from Columbia University.