Washington, DC— R. Scott Turner, M.D., Ph.D., an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of people with memory disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative dementias, and a highly regarded neuroscience researcher, has been named director of Georgetown University Medical Center’s Memory Disorders Program effective Aug. 1. Turner’s appointment by Georgetown University signifies a steadfast dedication to excellence in research, clinical trials, and patient care in the field of neurosciences.
Established in 1999 as the first program of its kind in the Washington area, the Memory Disorders Program provides the latest and most advanced clinical trials and patient care by combining state-of-the-art technologies and the newest treatments with the expertise of a team of clinicians and researchers. As a part of the department of neurology, the Memory Disorders Program conducts clinical trials including studies of new diagnostic methods and new treatments including vaccines. Patient care in the Memory Disorders Program is provided through Georgetown University's partnership with MedStar Health.
“I look forward to the continued growth of GUMC’s Memory Disorders Program under Dr. Turner,” said Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at Georgetown University and Executive Dean of the School of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. “He is the right person at the right time to employ new technologies with rapid scientific advances that will ultimately improve how we treat people with neurological disorders.”
Turner points to the need for intense collaboration to continue making advances in the field. “Scientific information about the underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders is being revealed at a rapid pace. It’s critical that we rapidly translate that knowledge in meaningful ways to develop better treatments and discover ways to help prevent or dramatically slow the onset of disease. These enormous tasks demand the expertise of dedicated clinicians and keen laboratory researchers working together—this is a unique a strength of the Georgetown program.”
Prior to joining Georgetown, Turner served as chairman of neurology service for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. He was also an associate professor and associate chairman for the University of Michigan Healthcare System’s neurology department.
Turner graduated with honors from Clemson University with a B.S. in microbiology and molecular biology. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in pharmacology from Emory University. Turner completed his internship, residency, and fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and then joined the faculties of the University of Michigan, and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Turner is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology.
Turner has directed a number of federal and foundation-funded research projects to study cognitive disorders, Alzheimer's disease and its basic mechanisms, and clinical studies of neurodegenerative dementias. He has received numerous awards, including a Paul Beeson Scholarship and a fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He lectures widely at scientific conferences, serves as a reviewer for numerous biomedical journals, and is widely published in his field. He is a member of the American Neurological Association, the Society for Neuroscience, and the American Academy of Neurology.
Turner succeeds Paul Aisen, M.D., the newly appointed director of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study and a professor in the department of neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. Aisen founded Georgetown’s Memory Disorders Program and continues to serve the program in an advisory capacity.
About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through our partnership with MedStar Health). Our mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Health Studies, both nationally ranked, the world-renowned Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), home to 60 percent of the university’s sponsored research funding.
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