Ruth Ottman is a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University and deputy director for Research at the Sergievsky Center, Columbia University. She is also a research scientist at the Division of Translational Epidemiology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and deputy director of the Columbia Center for Research on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic, and Behavioral Genetics. Ottman is a genetic epidemiologist whose research addresses the role of inherited factors in susceptibility to neurologic disorders, primarily focusing on epilepsy. Her current research is aimed at understanding the psychosocial impacts of receiving genomic information among people affected with or at risk for neurologic disorders.