Demetrius Maraganore MD, FAAN

Dr. Demetrius Maraganore is Chair of the Department of Neurology, Co-Director of the Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Herbert J. Harvey, Jr. Chair of Neurosciences, and Professor of Neurology at Tulane University School of Medicine. He created and leads the Tulane Healthy Brain Aging Initiative. His passion is helping people to age successfully by preventing cognitive decline and dementia. He sees patients for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia, and for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementias. His team is developing new therapies to promote healthy brain aging by modifying diet and targeting the gut microbiome. He is leading a national network to identify and track nonagenarians with superior cognitive performance.

A Chicago native, Dr. Maraganore received his Bachelor of Science and Medical Degree at Northwestern University (Honors Program in Medical Education). His internship and residency were at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He was then the Honorary Clinical and Research Fellow to Professor C. David Marsden (co-founder of the International Movement Disorders Society), at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, England.

His first academic appointment was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where he rose to the rank of Professor and Chair of the Division of Movement Disorders. He founded and led the Genetic Epidemiology of Parkinson’s Disease Consortium (60 sites from 30 countries and six continents) to study the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Maraganore’s second academic appointment was at NorthShore University HealthSystem in the Chicago area, where he was Chair of Neurology and founding Medical Director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute. He was jointly appointed as Clinical Professor at the University of Chicago.

His third academic appointment was at the University of Florida, where he was the BJ and Eve Wilder Professor of Alzheimer’s Disease, and the founding Director of the University of Florida Brain Health Program. He was appointed on behalf of the Governor to chair a State of Florida committee to create awareness of modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, and to identify and address related health disparities. His fourth academic appointment is now at Tulane (see above).

During these academic appointments, Dr. Maraganore has published 348 articles, which have been cited by other authors 31745 times (Google Scholar 3/24/25). He was principal investigator or co-investigator for research grants totaling more than $33 million.