He cares for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzhemier's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In 2011, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for his research on understanding FTD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Seeley's research focuses on why dementias target specific nerve cell populations. The goal of his research is to discover what makes brain tissues susceptible or resistant to degeneration and to translate these findings into new treatments.