Dr. Weiner is Professor of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco and principal investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a national multi-year study of 800 subjects. He also serves as Director Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disease (CIND). The overall theme of CIND is to use the most advanced brain imaging technology, especially MRI, to investigate the cause, progression, and effects of neurodegenerative diseases, and to develop effective treatments, diagnoses, and methods for early detection and prevention. In 1980, Dr. Weiner was one of the first investigators to use nuclear magnetic resonance to investigate the metabolism of organs inside a living animal. In 1988, his group used MRS to show that the amino acid N acetyl aspartate (NAA), a marker of healthy nerve cells, is reduced in the epileptic focus in the brain. This marker is now used to help identify the epileptic focus prior to surgery in epilepsy patients. In 2006, Dr. Weiner received the William S. Middleton Award, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.