Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is the director of the genetics and aging research unit and vice chair of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also serves as the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tanzi co-discovered three of the four known Alzheimer’s disease genes and directs the Alzheimer’s Genome Project, which has identified several other Alzheimer’s genes. He also discovered the Wilson’s disease gene and participated in the discovery of several other neurological disease genes. He is co-founder of several biotech companies, including Prana Biotechnology, which has the Alzheimer’s drug, PBT2, in clinical trials.
Dr. Tanzi has published over 450 papers and has received several awards, including the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award, Potamkin Prize, and one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Harvard Alumni." He also co-authored the popular trade books “Decoding Darkness” and the New York Times bestseller, “Super Brain,” and occasionally plays keyboards for the band Aerosmith.