Joshua A. Sonnen MD

Dr. Sonnen received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He then relocated to Tucson to attend a residency in Anatomic Pathology at the University of Arizona, then to Seattle to complete his neuropathology fellowship at the University of Washington.

Dr. Sonnen’s childhood friend suffered from epilepsy inspiring him to study neurosciences at a young age. From the age of 8 on Dr. Sonnen planned to be a neurosurgeon but during his first surgical rotation in medical school, he realized that his intellectual pursuits might not be compatible with that lifestyle. Through the lucky intervention of USC’s chief neuropathologist he was converted. In Dr. Sonnen’s own words, “I always wanted to be a neuropathologist. I just didn’t know what that was.” Dr. Sonnen is the primary neuropathologist for the Adult Changes in Thought study, which follows 2,000 older community dwelling people in King county, Washington and is one of the largest brain aging studies in the world.