Dean M. Hartley PhD

Dr. Hartley represents the Association’s science division and works with the division’s senior leaders on public relations activities and scientific workgroups to advance the Association’s science agenda. Dr. Hartley has a leadership role in the Association’s research and scientific fundraising initiatives.

Before coming to the Alzheimer’s Association, Dr. Hartley was an associate professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences and conducted research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Prior to this, he was assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and conducted research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.

Dr. Hartley has authored numerous publications in top scientific journals on mechanisms thought to cause neurons to become dysfunctional or die in diseases including epilepsy, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. A significant portion of his research career has focused on abnormal protein folding and how this may initiate Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, he has investigated how abnormal electrical activity may play a role in the progression of Alzheimer’s.

The co-author of several book chapters and an ad hoc reviewer and editor for more than 20 scientific journals in the field of neuroscience, Dr. Hartley has reviewed grants for the National Institutes of Health, L'Agence Nationale de la Recherché (French National Research Agency) and several other organizations. Dr. Hartley completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Departments of Medicine, Genetics, and Neurology at Harvard Medical School after completing his Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University. He has a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s degree in environmental toxicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.