Tobey Betthauser, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor
Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology

What is your primary professional focus in any or all of our mission areas (clinical, research, and/or medical education)?
My primary focus is Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research. Specifically, I am interested in developing and implementing methods that can be used to better understand the sequence of events that occur in disease using imaging and fluid biomarkers, and validating these biomarkers against postmortem pathological examination of the brain.

What drew you to UW-Madison and the Department of Medicine?
The culture at UW-Madison, the School of Medicine and Public Health and the Department of Medicine have an extraordinary history and commitment to research that makes a difference in people’s lives. I have also been encouraged by the amazing support I’ve received from the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention.

What are you most excited about during your first year with the department in this role?
I am looking forward to getting my research lab up and running, and expanding the science that I’ve been working on the past several years to a larger scale.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I enjoy writing, playing, recording and producing music with a few close friends. I also enjoy water sports and building things, especially with wood.

Favorite piece of advice from a mentor or inspiring figure in your life?
It’s tough to pick just one thing as I’ve been fortunate to have really great mentorship throughout my career. Probably one of the key themes from mentors is to exercise patience and realize that many things take time to develop and understand.