Primary Job Title Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit Primary Organization 
MGH Institute of Health Professions
Location Boston, Massachusetts, United States Regions Greater Boston Area, East Coast, New England Gender Male
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Dr. Tanzi is the director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at the Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease in Boston. He is also a professor of neurology and holder of the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Neurology and Mental Retardation at Harvard University.
Dr. Tanzi is a widely respected researcher
focusing on the molecular and genetic factors of neurological diseases, with significant interest on Alzheimer’s disease. For the last 30 years he has been dedicated to gene research on neurodegenerative disease, and co-discovered the three genes that cause early-onset familial Alzheimer’s. Dr. Tanzi is also responsible for co-discovering genes that trigger Huntington’s disease, Wilson’s disease, Autism, and other neurological disorders. He is the head of the Alzheimer’s Genome Project, a research project of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, which identified four new related genes – a finding that was named one of the Top Ten Medical Breakthroughs of 2008 by Time magazine. He is the co-author of the book Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease and has co-authored more than 340 articles on his topics of research, making him one of the top ten most cited researchers on Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Tanzi received his BS from the University of Rochester with a double major in microbiology and history and his Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard University. He has been honored with a significant number of awards for his work, including the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award and The Potamkin Prize.
