Dr. R. Ryan Darby is a board-certified behavioral neurologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Darby has clinical expertise in neurodegenerative diseases in older adults, including frontotemporal dementia. He is a clinician in the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Division of the Department of Neurology where he evaluates and treats patients with memory disorders. Dr. Darby’s research interests focus on the neurobiological mechanisms leading to abnormal behaviors in dementia patients. Dr. Darby is 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. Darby completed medical school at Vanderbilt University and a neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Darby completed a behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry clinical fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and McLean Psychiatric Hospital, and a research fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2017.

Dr. Jeffrey Conn is a pharmacologist, a Professor of Pharmacology, and the Lee E. Limbird Chair in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Conn’s research interests focus on the discovery of novel small molecule ligands for specific ion channels, receptors, and neurotransmitter transporters that can be used to probe pathways in the central nervous system and provide advances in developing novel treatments for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Conn is a member of the Internal Advisory Committee and an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He is also a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).

Dr. Conn completed his doctoral degree in pharmacology at Vanderbilt University and a postdoctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at Yale University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2003. 

Dr. Katherine Gifford is a clinical neuropsychologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Gifford has clinical expertise in evaluating older adults with memory concerns and sees patients in the Neuropsychology Clinic within the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Division in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Gifford’s research interests focus on identifying neuropsychological and self-report markers that underlie the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Dr. Gifford is a study neuropsychologist for the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, the Clinical Core Co-Leader for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt InterdisciplinaryTraining Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).

Dr. Gifford completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Florida Institute of Technology and postdoctoral fellowships in neuropsychology at Boston University and Vanderbilt University. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2013.

Dr. Katherine A.Gifford is a clinical neuropsychologist and an Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Gifford has clinical expertise in evaluating older adults with memory concerns and sees patients in the Neuropsychology Clinic within the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Division in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Gifford’s research interests focus on identifying neuropsychological and self-report markers that underlie the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Dr. Gifford is a study neuropsychologist for the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, the Clinical Core Co-Leader for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt InterdisciplinaryTraining Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).

Dr. Gifford completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Florida Institute of Technology and postdoctoral fellowships in neuropsychology at Boston University and Vanderbilt University. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2013.

Dr. L. Taylor Davis is a board-certified neuroradiologist, Associate Professor of Radiology, and Chief of Neuroradiology in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Davis has clinical expertise in multiple neuroimaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. Dr. Davis’s research interests focus on utilizing conventional and advanced MRI techniques in the study of various neurologic diseases, particularly in the early detection of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Davis is a study physician for the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project and is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Dr. Davis completed medical school at Vanderbilt University and a radiology residency and a neuroradiology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2014. 

Dr. Catherine E. Chang is an electrical engineer and an Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Chang’s research interests focus on developing and applying novel neuroimaging techniques for investigating human brain function in health and disease. Dr. Chang collaborates with investigators from the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, she is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and she is a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32). 

Dr. Chang completed her doctoral degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University and a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroimaging methods at the National Institutes of Health. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2018. 

Dr. Charles R. Sanders is a chemist, Professor of Biochemistry, and Associate Dean for Research in the Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sanders’s research interests focus on the molecular biophysical basis of Alzheimer’s disease related to membrane protein dysfunction, misfolding, and mistrafficking. Specifically, he has studied the transmembrane C99 protein, the immediate precursor of the amyloid-beta polypeptide generally thought to be closely related to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Sanders is an Associate Director for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Associate Director of Basic Neuroscience and a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32). 

Dr. Sanders completed his doctoral degree in chemistry at The Ohio State University and a postdoctoral fellowship in biophysical chemistry at Yale University. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2002.

Dr. Renã A. S. Robinson is a bioanalytical chemist and an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Neurology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Robinson’s research interests focus on developing novel proteomic and lipidomic platforms based on mass spectrometry to study aging and Alzheimer’s disease. She has a large emphasis on understanding the molecular contributions to health disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and in increasing disease awareness and research participation in minority communities. Dr. Robinson is 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. Robinson completed her doctoral degree in analytical chemistry at Indiana University and Lyman T. Johnson and UNCF/Merck postdoctoral fellowships at University of Kentucky. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2017. 

Dr. Ethan S. Lippmann is a chemical engineer and an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Lippmann’s research interests focus on applying molecular and cellular engineering techniques to model and study the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and neurovascular unit (NVU) to better understand and treat neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Lippmann serves as an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and as a preceptor for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32). 

Dr. Lippmann completed his doctoral degree in chemical engineering and a postdoctoral fellowship in biomedical engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2015.

Dr. Laura L. Dugan is a geriatrician and the Abram C. Shmerling Chair of Alzheimer’s and Geriatric Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Dugan has clinical expertise in neurodegenerative diseases and evaluates patients in the Division of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Dugan’s research interests focus on neuronal injury and the role inflammation may play in brain aging and neurodegeneration. Dr. Dugan is an investigator in the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and serves as the Associate Director of Translational Neuroscience and is a member of the training faculty for the Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32).  

Dr. Dugan completed medical school at The Ohio State University, an internal medicine residency at University of California San Francisco, and an endocrinology, gerontology, and metabolism fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2014.