Howard Chertkow
Scientific Director

Howard Chertkow is a cognitive neurologist, Professor of Neurology at the University of Toronto, Chair in Cognitive Neurology and Innovation at the Rotman Research Institute, and director of both the Clinical Trials Unit and the Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness at the Baycrest Centre in Toronto, Canada. His major areas of research interest include:

1. Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and prediction of deterioration in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
2. The structure, organization, and function of the Semantic Memory component of long-term memory, and its deterioration in dementia.
3. Localization of language and memory functions in the brain using functional imaging.
4. Neuromodulation therapy for semantic impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Chertkow is past president of the Consortium of Canadian Centres for Clinical Cognitive Research (C5R), the national Canadian organization of clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease and he is currently the Scientific Director of the Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration and Aging (CCNA). In 2005, his team published the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a clinical tool that has become an international standard for diagnosis of MCI. In 2006, Dr. Chertkow chaired the 3rd Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia, which brought together many of the country’s experts to formulate new guidelines for physicians. These guidelines were published nationally and internationally.

In 2008 he received the national Irma Parhad Award from C5R for contributions to excellence in AD research. In 2011 Dr. Chertkow was the only Canadian member of the National Institutes of Health team which revised the diagnostic criteria for AD (McKhann, Knopman, Chertkow et al, 2011. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 7(3);263-9).

Dr. Chertkow is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.