Michael S. Rafii is Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) and Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine. He obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Brown University and conducted neurogenetics research at Harvard Medical School. He completed his Neurology residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowship in Neurodegenerative diseases at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Rafii is a physician-scientist whose research focuses on developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease including a genetic form that occurs in people with Down syndrome. He is Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium - Down Syndrome (ACTC-DS), where he leads several clinical trials across an international network of academic research sites.

Dr. Rafii also serves as Director of the Medical Safety Unit of the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) where he and his team of medical monitors and clinical monitors provide oversight to the safety and conduct of ACTC’s entire portfolio of clinical trials. He is also Co-Director of the Clinical core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and Co-Principal Investigator of the national Alzheimer’s Network for Treatment and Diagnostics (ALZ-NET). Dr. Rafii serves as a scientific reviewer for the NIH and the Alzheimer's Association. He is author of two of the most widely used review books in neurology: ‘First Aid for the Neurology Boards’ and ‘First Aid for the Neurology Clerkship.’ His work has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio (NPR).

Previously, Dr. Rafii served as Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic, Founding Director of the Adult Down Syndrome Clinic, Director of the Comprehensive Alzheimer’s Program, Director of the Adult Neurology Residency Training program and Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Diego.