People

Michael Rafii, MD, PhD

University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (USC ATRI)

Michael S. Rafii MD, PhD is Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI). He received his MD and PhD degrees from Brown University and conducted neurogenetics research at Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in Neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowship in Neurodegenerative diseases at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Rafii is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) including a genetic form that occurs in people with Down syndrome (DS). He is Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium – Down Syndrome (ACTC-DS), an international network of over 20 expert sites.

Dr. Rafii also serves as director of the Medical Safety Unit of the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and co-director of the Clinical core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). He provides safety oversight to ATRI’s entire portfolio of clinical trials. He is a scientific reviewer for the NIH and the Alzheimer’s Association. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio (NPR).

Previously, Dr. Rafii served as Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic, Founding Director of the Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, Director of the Comprehensive Alzheimer’s Program, Director of the Adult Neurology Residency Training program, Attending Neurologist and Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Diego.