Ruth Ottman, Ph.D.
Professor of Epidemiology (in Neurology and the Sergievsky Center)
Deputy Director for Research, Sergievsky Center, Columbia University
Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute

She received an A.B. in zoology in 1975 and a Ph.D. in genetics in 1980 at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed a post-doc in cancer epidemiology at the same institution in 1981. She joined the faculty in epidemiology at Columbia University in 1981.

Dr. Ottman's primary area of expertise is genetic epidemiology. Her research addresses the role of inherited factors in susceptibility to neurologic disorders, primarily focusing on seizure disorders. She is also interested in methodologic issues in genetic epidemiology, including research designs for testing gene-environment interaction, methods for collection of valid family history data, and approaches to assessing familial aggregation.

Becca Loeb
Project Coordinator

Becca received an AB in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003. She has worked on various research studies over the last ten years, including studies of memory and dementia, language acquisition in infants, and educational interventions. She is currently a master's student in Biostatistics in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Shawn Sorge
Research Assistant

Shawn received a B.A in Psychology and Religious Studies from Brooklyn College, City University of New York in 2010. He is currently a master’s student in Psychology specializing in research methodology. He has previously worked in clinical assessment for outpatient mental health/substance abuse clinics and in geriatric research studies focusing on cognition and Alzheimer’s disease.