Bruce A. Yankner, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Genetics and Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, and Director of the Harvard Neurodegeneration Training Program. Dr. Yankner graduated from Princeton University, received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, and did a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. His work has advanced our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Down’s syndrome and diabetes, beginning with the discovery that amyloid proteins are toxic molecules. His laboratory was also the first to describe the transcriptome of the aging human brain, its evolution, and a role for DNA damage in gene regulation during aging. More recently, his laboratory has identified a pathway of gene regulation that modulates aging, memory loss, and the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. He has received the Major Award for Medical Research from the Metropolitan Life Foundation, the Derek Denny-Brown Neurological Scholar Award from the American Neurological Association, the Irving S. Cooper Award from the Mayo Clinic, the Zenith Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, the Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award, the Joseph A. Pignolo Award from University of Pennsylvania, the Nathan W. Shock award from NIA, and the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award and Transformative Research Award.