Biography
Dr. Mark Moss is Emeritus Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Moss received his doctorate in Psychology from Northeastern University and completed postdoctoral training at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychology. He joined the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in 1982 and has served as its Chairman since 1998. Together with Dr. Douglas Rosene, Dr. Moss is co-director for the Laboratory for Cognitive Neurobiology. His studies focus on the neurobiology of learning and memory in non-human primate models, particularly with respect to aging and age-related disease. Specific interests include (1) the interaction of the prefrontal cortices with the medial temporal lobe limbic system in cognition; (2) the separate and combined effects of age and hypertension on cognition and integrity of the blood-brain barrier in a non-human primate model of hypertensive cerebrovascular disease and (3) parallel studies in normal aged humans and patients with MCI and Alzheimer’s disease. Techniques include automated behavioral assessment, functional and structural MR imaging, and an array of immunocytochemical and related anatomical-morphological techniques.
He is recognized for his expertise on the neural basis of cognitive decline in aging and age-related disease, both in non-human primates and humans alike, and the development of “translational” tasks of cognition. He was Program Director for an NIA-NINDS Program Project studying the effects on brain integrity and cognition in a non-human primate model of hypertensive cerebrovascular disease. Dr. Moss is a recipient of an NIH MERIT award for his work on aging and hypertension.
Dr. Moss has directed the 1st year course in Medical Gross Anatomy and currently directs graduate courses in Cognitive Neuroscience, Professional Skills, and Grant Writing, and co-directs the course in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. He is the recipient of the Stanley L. Robbins Award, the highest teaching award at the School of Medicine, and is a recipient of the Thomas Robitscher Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Moss serves on a variety of scientific and administrative committees at the national, community, university, and medical school levels. He is also the academic advisor for the Clinical Neuroscience Society at BUSM.