Sergio Della Sala

Professor Sergio Della Sala holds a chair in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. He previously served as Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Aberdeen (1994–2004) and held senior roles in Italy, including at the University of Milan. His research focuses on cognitive neuropsychology, particularly amnesia, visuo-spatial neglect, apraxia, and Alzheimer’s disease. He has authored/co-authored numerous books, including Cases of Amnesia and Neuroscience in Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Education: MD (University of Milan, 1980), Post-doctoral degree in Psychobiology (University of Milan, 1989), and visiting positions at Cambridge University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Psychology Society. His awards include the Tam Dalyell Prize for public engagement with science.

Research interests span memory disorders, cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative diseases, and neuropsychological testing. He has supervised over 10 PhD students and led projects funded by Alzheimer Scotland, the Wellcome Trust, and others. Key contributions include the VATA-ADL test for anosognosia and investigations into long-term forgetting. He also advocates for scientific integrity and critiques misuse of neuroscience in education.

Current roles include editorship of Cortex and leadership in organizations like the British Neuropsychological Society. His work bridges clinical practice and theoretical neuroscience, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration.