Asa Abeliovich, MD, PhD, is currently an associate professor of pathology, cell biology and neurology at Columbia University (with tenure) and an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is also a member of the Taub Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. Dr. Abeliovich grew up in rural Illinois and subsequently attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received bachelor’s degrees in life sciences and humanities. Dr. Abeliovich then earned MD and PhD degrees from Harvard Medical School and MIT, respectively, through a joint Medical Scholar Training Program Fellowship.

At MIT, Dr. Abeliovich undertook thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, where he pioneered studies on the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory in mammals. Dr. Abeliovich completed clinical training in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. At Genentech, Inc., in South San Francisco, he initiated research on molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease in the laboratory of Dr. Arnon Rosenthal. He was awarded the Lamport award for excellence in basic science research at Columbia University in 2005.