Martin J. Gallagher, MD, PhD
Dr. Gallagher earned his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1989, graduating summa cum laude. He was a visiting scholar in neurobiology at Harvard University Medical School from 1992 to 1996, and earned a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and an M.D. from Washington University in 1997. He began his postgraduate training with an internship in internal medicine at Washington University, completed a neurology residency at Washington University in 2001, and a surgical epilepsy fellowship at Washington University from 2001 to 2002. Dr. Gallagher became an instructor of Neurology at Washington University in 2001 and joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as assistant professor of Neurology in 2002.
Dr. Gallagher is board certified by both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology in three specialties, Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, and Epilepsy Monitoring, and he is currently an attending physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His main research interest is in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which mutations in epilepsy genes cause disease. His predominant clinical focus is in the medical and surgical treatment of patients with epilepsy.
Dr. Gallagher is currently Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, with a predominant clinical focus in the medical and surgical treatment of patients with epilepsy. He is board certified by both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in three specialties, Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, and Epilepsy Monitoring.
Dr. Gallagher earned his BS in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1989, graduating summa cum laude. He was a visiting scholar in neurobiology at Harvard University Medical School from 1992 to 1996, and earned a PhD in molecular biophysics and an MD from Washington University in 1997. He began his postgraduate training with an internship in internal medicine at Washington University, completed a neurology residency at Washington University in 2001, and a surgical epilepsy fellowship at Washington University from 2001 to 2002. Dr. Gallagher became an instructor of Neurology at Washington University in 2001 and joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as assistant professor of Neurology in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor (tenured) in 2010.
Research Information
Dr. Gallagher’s main research interest is the elucidation of the interactions between epilepsy genes and environmental factors, such as traumatic brain injury, that promote the formation of epileptic circuits and that inhibit the normal functioning of cognitive networks. He uses electrophysiological techniques coupled with advanced signal processing analyses to interrogate the networks and then employs molecular and electrical neuromodulation approaches to restore normal neurophysiological functioning.