Howard Rosen, MD, is a behavioral neurologist and the Dorothy Kirsten French Foundation Endowed Professor for Parkinsonian and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders at UCSF. He specializes in diagnosing and treating patients with memory loss, cognitive impairment, and behavioral changes caused by neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and progressive supranuclear palsy.
Dr. Rosen earned his medical degree through the combined BA/MD program at Boston University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a neurology residency at UCSF. Following his residency, he pursued fellowship training in brain imaging and cognition at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1999, Dr. Rosen returned to UCSF to join the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center within the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, where he has been a faculty member ever since.
Dr. Rosen’s research focuses on understanding atypical neurodegenerative diseases, particularly frontotemporal dementia, and their effects on the brain’s cognitive and emotional systems. His work has involved many techniques, including psychophysiology and advanced imaging, particularly MRI, to study how these diseases impact socioemotional functioning, self-awareness, and brain changes over time. He also investigates how clinical assessment, imaging, and biological markers can improve early and accurate diagnosis.
At UCSF, Dr. Rosen serves as an associate director of the UCSF Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the California Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UCSF, overseeing multidisciplinary care for patients and coordinating efforts to enhance dementia care nationwide. He is also the director of UCSF’s Behavioral Neurology Training Program, the MRI Imaging Core at the Fein Memory and Aging Center, and curriculum development for the Global Brain Health Institute. Through these roles, he trains the next generation of dementia care professionals and works to improve access to dementia care.