Scott Atlas

Scott W. Atlas, MD, is the Robert Wesson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. From August through November, 2020, he served as Special Advisor to the President of the United States and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. As Special Advisor, he backed reopening the economy and schools, emphasizing targeted protection and other data-driven recommendations from medical science, informed choice, and constitutional freedoms. Widely recognized as an award-winning scholar in technology-driven medical advances, he investigates key economic and civil liberties issues related to health policies and the impact of government and the private sector on science and technology innovation, health care access and quality. He is a frequent advisor to policymakers in the United States and many other countries. He has served as senior advisor for health policy and technology-based medical science to several candidates for President, members of the U.S. Senate and House, and health agencies.

Before the Hoover Institution, he was Professor and Chief of Neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center for 14 years and in academic medicine for 25 years. He has been visiting professor at virtually all of the leading academic medical centers in the United States. Dr. Atlas is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications in medical science and technology, 200 policy pieces, and numerous books, including “A Plague Upon Our House: My Fight at the Trump White House to Stop COVID from Destroying America” (Bombardier Press), "In Excellent Health: Setting the Record Straight On America’s Health Care" (Hoover Press), and "Restoring Quality Health Care: A Six-Point Plan for Comprehensive Reform at Lower Cost" (Hoover Press). He is also the editor of the leading textbook in the field, "Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine" (Wolters Kluwer), now in its 5th edition and translated into several languages.

Dr. Atlas has received numerous awards in recognition of his leadership in policy and technology-based medicine, including the 2022 Encounter Prize for Advancing American Ideals for “standing up to injustice and facing down the madding crowd of conformity requires enormous patience, equilibrium, insight, and courage. The Encounter Prize pays tribute to individuals who effectively embody this rare combination of virtues in their lives and work;” the 2021 Freedom Leadership Award, Hillsdale College’s highest honor, “in recognition of his dedication to individual freedom and the free society,” the 2021 Conservative Partnership Institute Freedom Fighter of the Year Award, CPI’s highest honor, "for courage and dedication to truth and liberty" and the 2011 Alumni Achievement Award, the highest career achievement honor for an alumnus from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. In the private sector, Atlas is a frequent advisor to start-up entrepreneurs and companies in life sciences and medical technology. He received his MD degree from the University of Chicago School of Medicine.