Biography
Scott grew up in Virginia and South Carolina and received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College, concentrating in History and English. After working for several years as a chemist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, he went on to earn his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Emory University in 2000, studying under Dr. Allan I. Levey in the Department of Neurology to understand the metabolic regulation of presenilin-1, a key protein involved in familial forms of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). That same year, he joined Dr. Elliott J. Mufson's lab at Rush University Medical Center as an Instructor of Neurological Sciences, studying cholinergic mechanisms of AD and its prodromal stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as part of Rush's NIA-funded Training Program in Age-related Neurodegenerative Disorders.
Dr. Counts was appointed to an Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences at Rush in 2003 based on his expertise in using functional genomic technologies to compare and contrast postmortem brain samples from people who died within the clinical spectrum of no cognitive impairment (NCI) to MCI to AD. In 2013, Dr. Counts was recruited to Michigan State University as an Associate Professor of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine (primary) and Family Medicine (secondary) at the Grand Rapids campus.
His research has been continuously funded since 1998 and he is an author of over 80 papers and book chapters on the molecular pathogenesis of AD. When not in the lab, Scott has enjoyed exploring Grand Rapids and western Michigan with his family.
Employment
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences, East Lansing, -
Assoc Prof, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 2013 -
Publications
Burnout in nurses and biomarkers of stress, inflammation and neuroplasticity (2025)
Posterior cingulate cortex microRNA dysregulation differentiates cognitive resilience, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's & Dementia (2025)
Protective Effects of Bifidobacterium Breve MCC1274 as a Novel Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease Nutrients (2025)
Micro-RNA profiles of pathology and resilience in posterior cingulate cortex of cognitively intact elders Brain Communications (2024)
Clearance of interstitial fluid (ISF) and CSF (CLIC) group-part of Vascular Professional Interest Area (PIA), updates in 2022-2023. Cerebrovascular disease and the failure of elimination of Amyloid-β from the brain and retina with age and Alzheimer's disease: Opportunities for therapy Alzheimer's and Dementia (2024)
Human microRNA-153-3p targets specific neuronal genes and is associated with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease bioRxiv (2024)
The seeds of its regulation: Natural antisense transcripts as single-gene control switches in neurodegenerative disorders Ageing Research Reviews (2024)
Transcriptomic profiling of early synucleinopathy in rats induced with preformed fibrils npj Parkinson's Disease (2024)
Novel inductively coupled ear-bars (ICEs) to enhance restored fMRI signal from susceptibility compensation in rats Cerebral Cortex (2023)
Application of robust regression in translational neuroscience studies with non-Gaussian outcome data Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (2023)
Evaluation of N- and O-Linked Indole Triazines for a Dual Effect on α-Synuclein and Tau Aggregation ACS Chemical Neuroscience (2023)
Priorities for research on neuromodulatory subcortical systems in Alzheimer's disease: Position paper from the NSS PIA of ISTAART Alzheimer's and Dementia (2023)
Vascular and Nonvascular Mechanisms of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Clinics in Geriatric Medicine (2023)
Anti-fibrillization effects of sulfonamide derivatives on α-synuclein and hyperphosphorylated tau isoform 1N4R Journal of Molecular Structure (2022)
Posterior cingulate cortex reveals an expression profile of resilience in cognitively intact elders Brain Communications (2022)
Co-expression network analysis of frontal cortex during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease Cerebral Cortex (2022)
Human microRNA (miR-20b-5p) modulates Alzheimer’s disease pathways and neuronal function, and a specific polymorphism close to the MIR20B gene influences Alzheimer’s biomarkers Molecular Psychiatry (2022)
Novel inductively-coupled ear-bars (ICEs) for fMRI signal enhancement in rat entorhinal cortex bioRxiv (2022)
Plasma NfL predicts default mode network functional connectivity in older adults at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's and Dementia (2022)
Pontine Arteriolosclerosis and Locus Coeruleus Oxidative Stress Differentiate Resilience from Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Clinical Pathologic Cohort Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology (2021)
MicroRNA-298 reduces levels of human amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), β-site APP-converting enzyme 1 (BACE1) and specific tau protein moieties Molecular Psychiatry (2021)
Clearance of interstitial fluid (ISF) and CSF (CLIC) group—part of Vascular Professional Interest Area (PIA): Cerebrovascular disease and the failure of elimination of Amyloid-β from the brain and retina with age and Alzheimer's disease-Opportunities for Therapy Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring (2020)
Oxytocin Receptor Signaling in Vascular Function and Stroke Frontiers in Neuroscience (2020)
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and TrkB hippocampal gene expression are putative predictors of neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle pathology Neurobiology of Disease (2019)
Locus Coeruleus Degeneration Induces Forebrain Vascular Pathology in a Transgenic Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2019)
Nerve growth factor pathobiology during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease Frontiers in Neuroscience (2019)
Nurse Work Environment and Stress Biomarkers: Possible Implications for Patient Outcomes Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2019)
Peri-infarct upregulation of the oxytocin receptor in vascular dementia Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2019)
Response to Letter to the Editor "biomarkers Determination of the Nurse in Various Work Environments" Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2019)
Pretangle pathology within cholinergic nucleus basalis neurons coincides with neurotrophic and neurotransmitter receptor gene dysregulation during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Neurobiology of Disease (2018)
Ezrin expression is increased during disease progression in a tauopathy mouse model and alzheimer’s disease Current Alzheimer Research (2018)
Tau oligomer pathology in nucleus basalis neurons during the progression of Alzheimer Disease Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2018)
Alzheimer's Disease in the Latino Community: Intersection of Genetics and Social Determinants of Health Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2017)
Biomarkers for the Early Detection and Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease Neurotherapeutics (2017)
Enhancing mitochondrial proteostasis reduces amyloid-β proteotoxicity Nature (2017)
Locus coeruleus cellular and molecular pathology during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Acta neuropathologica communications (2017)
Multi-infarct dementia: A historical perspective Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra (2017)
Regulator of cell cycle (RGCC) expression during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease Cell Transplantation (2017)
Protein homeostasis gene dysregulation in pretangle-bearing nucleus basalis neurons during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Neurobiology of Aging (2016)
Cerebrospinal fluid proNGF: A putative biomarker for early alzheimer’s disease Current Alzheimer Research (2016)
Evidence for mitochondrial UPR gene activation in familial and sporadic alzheimer’s disease Current Alzheimer Research (2016)
Molecular and cellular pathophysiology of preclinical Alzheimer's disease Behavioural Brain Research (2016)
Pseudophosphorylation of tau at S422 enhances SDS-stable dimer formation and impairs both anterograde and retrograde fast axonal transport Experimental Neurology (2016)
Vascular cognitive impairment and dementia Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease (2016)
Evidence for a neuroprotective microRNA pathway in amnestic mild cognitive impairment Frontiers in Neuroscience (2015)
Hippocampal plasticity during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Neuroscience (2015)
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment exerts antioxidant and neuropreservatory effects in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease Journal of Clinical Immunology (2014)
Intravenous immunoglobulin reduces tau pathology and preserves neuroplastic gene expression in the 3xTg mouse model of Alzheimer's disease Current Alzheimer Research (2014)
Overview of immunotherapy in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and mechanisms of IVIG neuroprotection in preclinical models of AD Current Alzheimer Research (2014)
Synaptic gene dysregulation within hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in mild cognitive impairment Neuropharmacology (2014)
Complement activation fragment C5a receptors, CD88 and C5L2, are associated with neurofibrillary pathology Journal of Neuroinflammation (2013)
Dimebon alters hippocampal amyloid pathology in 3xTg-AD mice International Journal of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology (2012)
Hippocampal ProNGF signaling pathways and β-amyloid levels in mild cognitive impairment and alzheimer disease Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2012)
Hippocampal drebrin loss in mild cognitive impairment Neurodegenerative Diseases (2012)
Locus Coeruleus The Human Nervous System, Third Edition (2012)
Mild cognitive impairment: Pathology and mechanisms Acta Neuropathologica (2012)
Rac1b increases with progressive tau pathology within cholinergic nucleus basalis neurons in alzheimer's disease American Journal of Pathology (2012)
Synaptic integrity in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease Research Progress in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia (V) (2012)
Gender differences in neurotrophin and glutamate receptor expression in cholinergic nucleus basalis neurons during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy (2011)
Upregulation of select rab GTPases in cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy (2011)
Cholinergic Systems in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: Neurotrophic Molecular Analysis Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience (2010)
Cholinergic Systems in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Neurotrophic Molecular Analysis Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience, Three-Volume Set, 1-3 (2010)
DHA diet reduces AD pathology in young APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice: Possible gender effects Journal of Neuroscience Research (2010)
Microarray analysis of hippocampal CA1 neurons implicates early endosomal dysfunction during Alzheimer's disease progression Biological Psychiatry (2010)
Neuroprotective role for galanin in Alzheimer's disease. EXS (2010)
Noradrenaline activation of neurotrophic pathways protects against neuronal amyloid toxicity Journal of Neurochemistry (2010)
Preservation of cortical sortilin protein levels in MCI and Alzheimer's disease Neuroscience Letters (2010)
Putative CSF protein biomarker candidates for amnestic mild cognitive impairment Translational Neuroscience (2010)
Regional selectivity of rab5 and rab7 protein upregulation in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2010)
Western Blot Encyclopedia of Movement Disorders, Three-Volume Set (2010)
Cortical α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and β-amyloid levels in early Alzheimer disease Archives of Neurology (2009)
Galanin fiber hyperinnervation preserves neuroprotective gene expression in cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in Alzheimer's disease Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2009)
Cholinergic system during the progression of Alzheimer's disease: Therapeutic implications Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics (2008)
Galanin hyperinnervation upregulates choline acetyltransferase expression in cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in Alzheimer's disease Neurodegenerative Diseases (2008)
Galanin in Alzheimer's disease: Neuroinhibitory or neuroprotective? Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2008)
Cholinotrophic molecular substrates of mild cognitive impairment in the elderly Current Alzheimer Research (2007)
Effects of ex vivo transduction of mesencephalic reaggregates with bcl-2 on grafted dopamine neuron survival Brain Research (2007)
α7 nicotinic receptor up-regulation in cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in Alzheimer disease Archives of Neurology (2007)
Chapter 10 Neuronal gene expression profiling: uncovering the molecular biology of neurodegenerative disease Progress in Brain Research (2006)
Differential expression of synaptic proteins in the frontal and temporal cortex of elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2006)
Down regulation of trk but not p75NTR gene expression in single cholinergic basal forebrain neurons mark the progression of Alzheimer's disease Journal of Neurochemistry (2006)
Galanin fiber hypertrophy within the cholinergic nucleus basalis during the progression of Alzheimer's disease Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders (2006)
Shift in the ratio of three-repeat tau and four-repeat tau mRNAs in individual cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease Journal of Neurochemistry (2006)
Single Cell Gene Expression Profiling in Alzheimer's Disease NeuroRx (2006)
Ectopic galanin expression and normal galanin receptor 2 and galanin receptor 3 mRNA levels in the forebrain of galanin transgenic mice Neuroscience (2005)
Galanin plasticity in the cholinergic basal forebrain in Alzheimer's disease and transgenic mice Neuropeptides (2005)
RNA amplification of bromodeoxyuridine labeled newborn neurons in the monkey hippocampus Journal of Neuroscience Methods (2005)
The role of nerve growth factor receptors in cholinergic basal forebrain degeneration in prodromal Alzheimer disease Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2005)
Reduction of cortical TrkA but not p75 NTR protein in early-stage Alzheimer's disease Annals of Neurology (2004)
Single-cell gene expression analysis: Implications for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders Neurochemical Research (2004)
Galanin in Alzheimer disease. Molecular interventions (2003)
Preservation of brain nerve growth factor in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease Archives of Neurology (2003)
Galanin inhibits tyrosine hydroxylase expression in midbrain dopaminergic neurons Journal of Neurochemistry (2002)
Gene expression profiles of cholinergic nucleus basalis neurons in Alzheimer's disease Neurochemical Research (2002)
Galanin: Neurobiologic mechanisms and therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease CNS Drug Reviews (2001)
Neuropathology of mice carrying mutant APPswe and/or PS1M146L transgenes: Alterations in the p75NTR cholinergic basal forebrain septohippocampal pathway Experimental Neurology (2001)
The regulation of presenilin-1 by nerve growth factor Journal of Neurochemistry (2001)
Comparison of cholinergic and histaminergic axons in the lateral geniculate complex of the macaque monkey Anatomical Record (1999)
Coordinate expression of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and choline acetyltransferase following septohippocampal pathway lesions Journal of Neurochemistry (1998)
Regulation of presenilin-1 during neuronotypic differentiation of pc12 cells Brain Pathology (1998)
Light and electron microscopic localization of presenilin-1 in primate brain Journal of Neuroscience (1997)
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