Dr. Jeremy Schmahmann is a world-renowned neurologist and preeminent authority on cerebellar function and disorders. He currently serves as Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Senior Clinical Neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital where he founded and directs the Laboratory for Neuroanatomy and Cerebellar Neurobiology. As the Founding Director of the MGH Ataxia Center and a founding member of the Cognitive Behavioral Neurology Unit, Dr. Schmahmann has established himself as a transformative leader in the field of neurological sciences. He received his medical degree from the University of Cape Town School of Medicine in South Africa in 1980 and completed his neurology residency at Boston City Hospital and Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, laying the foundation for his pioneering career in cerebellar research.
Dr. Schmahmann's groundbreaking research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the cerebellum, demonstrating that this brain structure is not merely involved in motor control but also plays a critical role in cognition and emotion. His seminal work describing the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome established the foundation for the modern field of cerebellar cognition, revealing how cerebellar damage affects executive function, spatial cognition, language, and emotional regulation. Through innovative studies using magnetic resonance imaging in healthy individuals and detailed clinical analyses of patients with cerebellar injury from stroke, tumors, and developmental disorders, he has mapped the functional topography of the cerebellum with unprecedented precision. This transformative work has catalyzed a paradigm shift in neuroscience, demonstrating that the cerebellum forms distributed neural networks with cerebral cortical regions involved in higher cognitive functions.
Dr. Schmahmann's contributions have been widely recognized with prestigious honors including the Norman Geschwind Prize in 2000 from the American Academy of Neurology and the Behavioral Neurology Society for his pioneering work on the cerebellum's role in cognition and emotion. He is internationally regarded as the leading expert on cerebellar anatomy and disorders, with his research informing the clinical management of ataxias and movement disorders worldwide. His laboratory continues to advance the field through cutting-edge investigations of rare movement disorders including spinocerebellar ataxias, multiple system atrophy of the cerebellar type, and metabolic ataxias like Late-Onset GM2 gangliosidosis. As an influential mentor and thought leader, Dr. Schmahmann is currently guiding the next generation of neurologists while expanding research into the cerebellum's role in neurodevelopmental conditions and developing novel therapeutic approaches for cerebellar disorders.
