Nov. 11, 2002

Dr. Gary W. Small has been named by Scientific American magazine as one of the Scientific American 50 — the noted magazine’s first list recognizing contributions worldwide from the past year to science and technology providing a vision of a better future. Small represents the only honoree specifically from the field of Alzheimer’s disease and memory research.

Announced today, the Scientific American 50 makes its debut in the magazine’s December issue, appearing on newsstands November 18. The complete list may also be accessed after November 11 on the magazine’s website at http://www.sciam.com/.

Said Editor-in-Chief John Rennie: "Scientific American’s editors wanted to recognize some of the most outstanding visionaries who are advancing technology and guaranteeing a brighter future for all of us. Scientists aren’t the only ones doing this. That’s why the Scientific American 50 includes business leaders, policy leaders, companies and other organizations that influence how society puts innovations to good use."

Selected by the magazine’s Board of Editors, the Scientific American 50 spotlights a Business Leader of the Year and a Research Leader of the year, in addition to citing accomplishments in the following categories: Agriculture, Chemicals & Materials, Communications, Computing, Defense, Energy, Environment, Manufacturing, Medical Diagnostics, Medical Treatments, Transportation and General Technology. Each category recognizes a Business Leader, Policy Leader, Company Leader and Research Leader.

"I am extremely honored to be included on the Scientific American 50, and recognized by Scientific American magazine, with its unique stature in the world of science and technology," Small said.

Small is named Research Leader in Medical Diagnostics for his innovative work demonstrating the usefulness of PET scans in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Small is the Parlow-Solomon Professor on Aging at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and an internationally recognized physician, neuroscientist and psychiatrist, who directs the Center on Aging, the UCLA campus-wide program dedicated to promoting healthy aging and living better, longer. After graduating from UCLA, he received his medical degree from the University of Southern California, then completed a general psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at UCLA.

Small leads an internationally recognized team on the forefront of aging and memory research, supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Institute for the Study of Aging. Small’s team was the first to report early brain function decline in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the first to discover a new PET scan compound that may provide definitive diagnosis and treatment monitoring of living Alzheimer’s patients.

Small commented, "Using new technologies like the PET scan, we now have a window that allows us to view how the brain functions and we can detect, sometimes decades before someone gets Alzheimer’s disease, that there is subtle evidence of brain aging. We can now identify a problem earlier than ever before and get people started on effective treatments."

Alzheimer’s disease often begins with mild memory lapses, then gradually advances to dementia — a progressive deterioration of memory, language and most mental functions. Alzheimer’s patients eventually become bedridden and require constant care. Recent research now suggests that a much larger number of people suffering from milder forms of cognitive impairment may have an opportunity to protect the brain from further decline since environmental factors and lifestyle choices, rather than genetic risk, are the greatest determinants of lifelong brain health and fitness.

Small’s research on aging and memory has been documented in over 400 scientific publications, as well as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, International Herald Tribune, and many others. In his recent best-selling book, "The Memory Bible," Small introduces the latest research on preventing memory loss, improving memory performance, and maintaining brain health.

Founded in 1845, editorial contributors to Scientific American have included over 100 Nobel laureates, among them Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Francis Crick, Stanley Prusiner and Harold Varmus.