John Kramer works as a certified physician assistant at the Vanderbilt MS Center.  He has worked in the field of neuroimmunology for the past 22 years.  Caring for neurological patients is a true passion of his, and he has participated in dozens of clinical research trials, published in several neurology journals, and has presented at national conferences.  He is the co-director of the IV infusion clinic at the Vanderbilt MS Center.  In his free time, John likes to play golf, exercise, and spend time with his family.  

Kara Gaw is a Certified Physician Assistant practicing in Sleep Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She assists in both the Neurology and Pulmonology Sleep Medicine Clinics. She has been practicing as a Certified Physician Assistant since 2014. Prior to her current role in sleep medicine, she gained experience working in the outpatient setting in General Neurology as well as Orthopedic Spine Surgery. Kara is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Kara received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as a National Merit Scholar at Harding University and her Masters of Science in Medicine/Physician Assistant Studies from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Lexi Rouse is a nurse practitioner in the outpatient general neurology and stroke clinics in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Prior to her current position, Lexi served in the Neuro ICU at VUMC. She earned both her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Nursing from Belmont University in Nashville.

Dr. Matthew Meriweather is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is the Division Chief for Inpatient and Emergency Neurology. He is certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a member of several professional medical organizations including the American Academy of Neurology, American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, American Medical Association, and the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. 

In addition to his current clinical responsibilities, Dr. Meriweather also provides clinical training for residents. He has also served as an attending teleneurologist for several medical centers throughout Middle Tennessee.

Dr. Meriweather completed a fellowship in Vascular Neurology, as well as residency in Neurology at VUMC. He served as chief resident his senior year. During his fellowship, he engaged in several educational activities, including preparing weekly didactic sessions for fellows and faculty and supervising residents on stroke service. He earned his M.D. from Marshall University and B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Cincinnati, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Dr. James Eaton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is certified in Neurology by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry. He completed fellowships in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology and Neuroimmunology both at VUMC.

Dr. Humayun joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022 as Assistant Professor of Neurology, specializing in Epilepsy. He is also board certified in Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy. In addition to outpatient care of epilepsy patients. Dr. Humayun will also be leading the newly built state of the art epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in addition to fellow education and training at the main campus.

Dr. Humayun earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MD equivalent) degree in from Army Medical College, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Pakistan in 2011. He completed his intern year in neurology at his hometown and moved to Ohio in 2014. He completed his adult neurology residency from the University of Toledo, Toledo OH in 2018 where he also served as Chief Resident from 2017-2018. He moved to Nashville and completed a two-year fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy in 2020. His second-year fellowship was focused on surgical management and care of drug resistant epilepsy and he also served as Chief Epilepsy Fellow during that academic year. Dr. Humayun was also awarded with Best Graduating Resident in 2018 as well as Outstanding Fellow Award in 2019.

Dr. Robert Fallis is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  Dr. Fallis previously practiced general neurology in Nashville with an emphasis on the care of patients with multiple sclerosis and other immunologic diseases. He recently returned to the Nashville area to join the general neurology faculty at VUMC and will care for patients at the Vanderbilt Clinic in Nashville and at the Vanderbilt Wilson County Clinic in Lebanon. His primary interests include general neurology, headache, and immune mediated neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Fallis completed his undergraduate education at the University of California at San Diego and then received a Master of Science degree from the University of Chicago.  He received his MD degree from the University of Kentucky and completed his neurology residency training at the University of Southern California. He was awarded a National Multiple Sclerosis Society fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. He then served as Senior Staff Fellow with the Neuroimmunology Branch at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.  He is board certified in Neurology and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. 

Dr. Fallis established and directed an MS treatment clinic in Lexington, KY and later established and directed the first Comprehensive MS Treatment Center in Nashville, TN. He has participated in numerous clinical trials to develop new and novel treatments for various diseases and has authored many peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Fallis has lectured on multiple sclerosis locally as well as nationally. During his recent tenure at The Ohio State University, he   taught medical students, nurse practitioners, residents, and neuroimmunology fellows. Dr. Fallis has served with the National MS Society both nationally and locally and has received community service awards for his work with multiple sclerosis. In addition to MS, Dr. Fallis has diagnosed and treated a myriad of other neurological symptoms and diseases throughout his career.  He has had years of experience treating general neurology patients and gains great satisfaction helping his patients optimize their health.

Dr. Alphonso Smith completed his undergraduate studies at La Sierra University where he earned a degree in Psychobiology with a minor in Biology. Dr. Smith completed his doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at Loma Linda University (APA-Accredited). For his pre-internship training, Dr. Smith completed a wide range of neuropsychology practicums across various medical settings including the UCLA Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Loma Linda University Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital of Orange County. For his internship, Dr. Smith completed the Adult Neuropsychology Track at the Vanderbilt-VA Consortium (APA-Accredited). In this role, he received specialized neuropsychology training at the Vanderbilt Epilepsy-Neuropsychology Program and at the Nashville VA Medical Center. Dr. Smith then completed his post-doctoral neuropsychology fellowship at the Alexian Brothers/Amita Health Neurosciences Institute (APPCN-Member) where he received lifespan neuropsychological training for pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations.

Next, Dr. Smith worked as a neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine where he continued providing neuropsychological services for patients across the age span. He also specialized in providing pre-surgical Wada testing and outpatient neuropsychological evaluations for patients at their Epilepsy Center. In addition, he provided pre-DBS neuropsychological evaluations for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor at their Movement Disorders Clinic. At present, Dr. Smith is an adult neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he provides neuropsychological services for various clinics (e.g., Epilepsy Surgery Program, Memory Clinic, HIV Clinic, and Tourette Syndrome Clinic).

Dr. Smith’s research interests include concussion, executive functioning, epilepsy, and behavioral neuroscience. He has published journal articles in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology and the Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work. He has also given presentations at various conferences including for the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Society for Neuroscience, American Neuropsychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and National Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Smith is board certified in clinical neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a member of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, National Academy of Neuropsychology, Tennessee Psychological Association, International Honor Society in Psychology (Psi Chi), and National Biological Honor Society (TriBeta).