Adam Gazzaley

Early life

Gazzaley graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1986. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Binghamton University in 1990, followed by M.D. and Ph.D degrees in Neuroscience through the NIH-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. His doctoral research on plasticity of glutamate receptors in the hippocampus and implications for cognitive changes in normal aging earned him the 1997 Krieg Cortical Scholar Award. He completed an internship in internal medicine (1998-1999) and residency in neurology (1999-2002) at the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Following residency in 2002, Gazzaley had a research fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, and simultaneously worked as Attending Neurologist at the Northern California VA Medical Center, UCSF Medical Center and completed a clinical fellowship in cognitive neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Memory and Aging Center where he became board-certified in neurology.

Gazzaley founded Wanderings in 2000, a fine art photography site featuring his nature photography.

Research

Gazzaley founded Gazzaley Lab at UCSF in 2006 and the UCSF Neuroscience Imaging Center in 2007. His research approach uses a combination of human neurophysiological tools, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial stimulation (TES). He used this approach to show that older adults exhibit neural deficits in suppressing distractions and also while multitasking.

Several of Gazzaley's studies explore how cognitive abilities may be enhanced via engagement with custom designed video games, neurofeedback and TES. In 2009 he designed a video game, NeuroRacer, to enhance cognitive abilities of older adults. In a study published in 2013 as the cover story of Nature he showed that the multitasking nature of the game caused improvements in tasks outside of the game involving working memory and sustained attention.

He created the Neuroscape Lab at UCSF , an environment designed to create and validate neurodiagnostics and neurotherapeutics using newly emerging technology. He developed the GlassBrain, a 3D MRI brain visualization that displays overlaid rhythmic brain activity in real-time using EEG recordings in collaboration with scientists at UCSD.

In 2016, he merged the three entities he created at UCSF (Gazzaley Lab, Neuroscience Imaging Center and Neuroscape Lab) into one research center — Neuroscape — with the mission of bridging technology and neuroscience to create real-world solutions to enhance brain function.

Industry

In 2011, Gazzaley co-founded Akili Interactive Labs, a company hoping to create the first FDA approved video game, and acts as its Chief Science Advisor.

In 2015, he co-founded JAZZ Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in experiential technology to improve human performance, and serves as its Chief Scientist.

Public and Media Appearances

Gazzaley has delivered over 500 invited talks around the world on his research and perspectives. His public speaking has been recognized by receiving the 2015 Science Educator Award by the Society of Neuroscience.

He has been profiled in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Discover, Wired, PBS, NPR, CNN, NBC Nightly News., The Today Show. In 2013, he wrote and hosted the nationally televised, PBS-sponsored special, “The Distracted Mind with Dr. Adam Gazzaley”. In 2014, he co-hosted TEDMED 2014. He has appeared in several TV documentaries.

Awards and Honors

Book

Gazzaley authored The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech world, along with Dr. Larry Rosen. It was published by MIT Press in October 2016. ISBN 978-0-262-03494-4 It won the 2017 PROSE Award in the category of Biomedicine and Neuroscience

Notable Research Articles

Patents Filed