Dr. Scoles received his PhD in population genetics at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and conducted his postdoctoral research in neuroscience at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In 2008, he became a research associate professor of neurology at the University of Utah, and joined the tenure track in 2013 as an associate professor.

Dr. Scoles’s research objectives are focused on the identification of drugs for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) and Parkinson’s disease. His drug discovery methodologies include quantitative high throughput screening (qHTS) and antisense oligonucleotide screening. Dr. Scoles also investigates molecular mechanisms of disease gene expression aimed at identifying new therapeutic targets and understanding drug action. His research is sponsored by collaborative partnerships with industry and the National Institutes of Health (NCATS).