Tony Wyss-Coray
Profile details
Director, Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience
D. H. Chen Professor II, Department of Psychiatry
Knight Initiative Affiliated Researchers, Wu Tsai Neuro Faculty Affiliates
Tony Wyss-Coray is the D.H. Chen Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and the Director of the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford University. His lab studies brain aging and neurodegeneration with a focus on age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. The Wyss-Coray research team discovered that circulatory blood factors can modulate brain structure and function, and factors from young organisms can rejuvenate old brains. Current studies focus on the molecular basis of the systemic communication with the brain by employing a combination of genetic, cell biology, and omics approaches in killifish, mice, and humans. Wyss-Coray has presented his ideas at Global TED, the Tencent WE Summit, and the World Economic Forum, and in 2018 he was voted one of Time magazine’s “The Health Care 50” most influential people transforming health care. He co-founded Alkahest Inc. and several other companies targeting Alzheimer’s and neurodegeneration, and has been the recipient of an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, a Zenith Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, and a NOMIS Foundation Award.