Dr. Chengwen Zhou is a neuroscientist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Zhou’s research interests focus on how brain-states influence and trigger seizure onset with homeostatic synaptic plasticity mechanisms. He is also interested in the role sleep-related activity plays in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Zhou is a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).  

Dr. Zhou completed a master’s degree in neurobiology at Shanghai Institute of Physiology and a doctoral degree in visual neuroscience at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Zhou completed a postdoctoral fellowship in synaptic plasticity, pediatric epilepsy, and seizure disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2011. 

Dr. Warren D. Taylor is a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Taylor has clinical expertise in the treatment of older adults with depressive disorders with and without cognitive impairment. He sees patients in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Taylor’s research interests focus on applying positron emission tomography to examine Alzheimer’s pathology biomarkers in older adults with depression. Dr. Taylor is a collaborator of the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and a preceptor for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).  

Dr. Taylor completed medical school at University of South Florida School of Medicine and an adult psychiatry residency and geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Duke University. Dr. Taylor also completed a master’s degree in health sciences at Duke University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2012.

Dr. Sandra F. Simmons is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Simmons’ research interests focus on identifying clinical interventions to improve both quality of care and quality of life among older adults in a variety of healthcare settings, including individuals with dementia residing in assisted-living settings. Dr. Simmons is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.  

Dr. Simmons completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology and gerontology at Pennsylvania State University. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006.

Dr. Anil Shanker is an immunologist and a Professor of Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Neuroscience and Pharmacology at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Shanker’s research interests focus on the information processing and signal transduction circuitry underlying lymphocyte crosstalk during neuropathological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease.  

Dr. Shanker completed a master’s degree in cell biology at University of Delhi and a doctoral degree in tumor immunology at Banaras Hindu University. Dr. Shanker completed a postdoctoral fellowship in tumor immunology at Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy and a postdoctoral fellowship in tumor immunotherapy at the National Cancer Institute. He joined the Meharry Medical College faculty in 2010. 

Dr. Matthew S. Schrag is a board-certified vascular neurologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Schrag has clinical expertise in the overlap between vascular and cognitive neurological diseases and sees patients in the Stroke Division of the Department of Neurology. Dr. Schrag’s research interests focus on how cerebral amyloid angiopathy contributes to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, he is interested in mapping the cerebral microvasculature to understand morphological changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Schrag is a collaborator with the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).

Dr. Schrag completed medical school and his doctoral degree in biochemistry at Loma Linda University, a neurology residency and research fellowship at Yale University, and a vascular neurology fellowship at Vanderbilt University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2016.

Dr. Jerri M. Rook is a behavioral and systems neuropharmacologist and an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology. Dr. Rook’s research interests focus on understanding the in vivo effects of G protein-coupled receptors in the regulation of brain function and behavior to identify novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, she has worked on the M₁ positive allosteric modulators drug discovery program for an Alzheimer’s candidate drug that is currently in clinical trials. Dr. Rook is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Dr. Rook completed her doctoral degree in pharmacology at University of Kansas Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2012. 

Dr. Wellington Pham is a medicinal chemist and a Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Pham’s research interests focus on the development of probes, therapeutic agents, and delivery molecules for application in Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, he has developed integrated combinatorial methods to identify novel amyloid beta binding molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Pham is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and is a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32). 

Dr. Pham completed his doctoral degree in medicinal chemistry at University of Toledo, a postdoctoral fellowship in positron emission tomography chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, and a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular imagining at Harvard Medical School. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006.

Dr. Laura M. Keohane is a health services researcher and an Assistant Professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Keohane’s research interests focus on achieving better health outcomes and affordable services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Her research also includes the evaluation of dementia and neurocognitive tests among workers with alpha-particle dose to brain tissue.  

Dr. Keohane completed a master’s degree in health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health and a doctoral degree in health services research at Brown University. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2015.  

Dr. Carrie K. Jones is a neuropharmacologist and an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Jones’s research interests focus on the in vivo effects of metabotropic glutamate receptor and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ligands in the regulation of brain function and behavior. Her research also includes the development of selective M₁ positive allosteric modulators for the treatment of age-related impairment in cognition and sleep architecture observed in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Jones is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.  

Dr. Jones completed her doctoral degree in medical neurobiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology at Lilly Research Laboratories, and a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2007. 

Dr. Daniel E. Gustavson is a cognitive psychologist and an Instructor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Gustavson’s research interests focus on cognitive changes across the lifespan, including genetic and environmental associations with mental health and self-regulation. Specifically, he studies cognition using longitudinal twin studies, with a strong focus on cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Gustavson is a collaborator of the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project. 

Dr. Gustavson completed his doctoral degree in cognitive psychology at University of Colorado Boulder and a postdoctoral fellowship at University of California. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2020.