Dr. Schmechel is on Doximity
As a Doximity member you'll join over two million verified healthcare professionals in a private, secure network.
- Gain access to free telehealth tools, such as our “call shielding” and one-way patient texting.
- Connect with colleagues in the same hospital or clinic.
- Read the latest clinical news, personalized to your specialty.
Office
146 E Hospital Dr
Ste 120A
West Columbia, SC 29169Phone+1 803-936-7076
Summary
- A board-certified neurologist who has published more than 150 articles and chapters on basic and clinical research, Dr. Schmechel received his bachelor’s degree with honors in Chemistry from Yale College in New Haven, CT and his medical degree with honors in Neurobiology from Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. He completed a medical internship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC and served for four years in the U.S. Public Health Service researching brain neurochemistry at National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Schmechel then returned to clinical training, completing a residency in Adult Neurology at Duke and a fellowship in Geriatrics at Durham VA Medical Center.
Dr. Schmechel was a professor of Medicine at Duke from 1984 to 2007, serving as Chief of Neurology at the Durham VA Medical Center and director of the Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He performed basic science and clinical research and was part of the team that discovered the Alzheimer’s risk gene, apolipoprotein E (APOE). After 28 years at Duke, he started a regional memory center in the Foothills of North Carolina where he practiced for the last five years. He comes to West Columbia, SC to be near his family.
Dr. Schmechel specializes in the evaluation, monitoring, prevention and treatment of cognitive disorders as well as specific categories of general neurology. He has expertise in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, early and late onset dementia, inflammatory disease of the nervous system, genetics and evaluation of attention deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, affective disorders, fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue and stroke risk assessment and prevention.
Dr. Schmechel also sees select patients with epilepsy, migraine or sleep disorders. In addition, he focuses on the genetic analysis and aggressive treatment of these conditions and uses computer-assisted cognitive testing where indicated for monitoring treatment res
Education & Training
- Duke University HospitalFellowship, Geriatric Medicine (Internal Medicine), 1982 - 1984
- Duke University HospitalResidency, Neurology, 1979 - 1982
- Duke University HospitalInternship, Internal Medicine, 1974 - 1975
- Harvard Medical SchoolClass of 1974
Certifications & Licensure
- SC State Medical License 2012 - 2025
- NC State Medical License 1974 - 2024
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Neurology
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- CMS Meaningful Use Stage 1 Certification Allscripts Enterprise EHR, Allscripts, 2012
Clinical Trials
- Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy Study to Evaluate Subjects With Mild Cognitive Impairment Start of enrollment: 2007 Jan 01
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- 432 citationsAlzheimer's disease is associated with reduced expression of energy metabolism genes in posterior cingulate neurons.Winnie S. Liang, Eric M. Reiman, Jon Valla, Travis Dunckley, Thomas G. Beach
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008-03-18 - 6823 citationsGene dose of apolipoprotein E type 4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in late onset familiesElizabeth H. Corder, Ann M. Saunders, Warren J. Strittmatter, Donald E. Schmechel, P. C. Gaskell
Science. 1993-08-13 - 153 citationsHuman apolipoprotein E2, E3, and E4 isoform-specific transgenic mice: human-like pattern of glial and neuronal immunoreactivity in central nervous system not observed ...Pu Ting Xu, Donald E. Schmechel, Tracie Rothrock-Christian, D. Scott Burkhart, H. Qiu
Neurobiology of Disease. 1996-01-01
Professional Memberships
- Member
Viewing the full profile is available to verified healthcare professionals only.
Find your profile and take control of your online presence: