Alex Contreras is a post-baccalureate graduate student at the Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer’s Center. He graduated in 2021 from Ball State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Biology. His undergraduate research was in the over-expression of mutant T7 RNA-polymerase for transcription of 2’OMe modified RNA. He also spent two years as a teaching assistant for an active learning format Organic Chemistry lecture. During his free time, Alex loves to play piano, chess, exercise, and play with his pet rats.
Abel Belachew is a Statistical Genetic Analyst II working with the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center's Computational Neurogenomics Team. He graduated from Marshall University with his Masters of Science in Health Informatics. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Health Outcomes and Policy Research with a concentration on Health Informatics and Information Management. In his spare time, Abel enjoys reading, playing ping pong, and watching soccer.
Jane Zyski is a Program Manager at Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer’s Center, working with the Computational Neurogenomics Team. She received her Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Central Florida and her Bachelor’s in International Business from Rollins College, with a minor in Spanish. Prior to joining the VUMC team, Jane worked with the Northwestern Medicine Patient Engagement Team, overseeing patient and employee surveying, data collection and focus groups for the Central Region.
Jane enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and goldendoodle, Luke. She especially loves to visit her home state of Florida and her second home of Cape May, New Jersey.
Dr. Panpan Zhang is a biostatistician and an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on the development of novel statistical methods for assessing dementia risk in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Specifically, Dr. Zhang investigates new statistical methods for biomarker evaluations and imaging data analysis, with particular interest in the missing data, high dimensional data, longitudinal data analysis problems that arise from Alzheimer’s disease and other collaborative research. Dr. Zhang serves as a co-investigator with the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project and the Data Management & Statistics Core Co-Leader for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Dr. Zhang received his master’s degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University, and a PhD in statistics from the George Washington University. Dr. Zhang joined the Department of Statistics at the University of Connecticut as a Visiting Assistant Professor and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2022.
Dr. James Eaton is a neurologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Eaton’s research interests include the interplay between inflammation and the immune system with neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Eaton sees memory referral patients as part of the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology in the Department of Neurology and serves as a co-investigator with the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project and the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Dr. Eaton completed medical school at the Zucker School of Medicine in New York. He completed his residency in neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical School followed by a neuroimmunology fellowship and a cognitive and behavioral neurology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2022.
Dr. James Eaton is a neurologist and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Eaton’s research interests include the interplay between inflammation and the immune system with neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Eaton sees memory referral patients as part of the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology in the Department of Neurology and serves as a co-investigator with the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project and the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Dr. Eaton completed medical school at the Zucker School of Medicine in New York. He completed his residency in neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical School followed by a neuroimmunology fellowship and a cognitive and behavioral neurology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2022.
Dr. Amalia Peterson is a behavioral neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Peterson’s research focuses on how women’s health factors relate to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias from a life course perspective. Dr. Peterson sees memory referral patients as part of the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology in the Department of Neurology. She also serves as a co-investigator with the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project and the Clinical Core Co-Leader for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Dr. Peterson earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Pomona College in Claremont, California before spending a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the Cajal Institute in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Peterson completed her medical degree at the University of Michigan and neurology residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Peterson subsequently completed a cognitive and behavioral neurology fellowship at Columbia University. During her fellowship training, Dr. Peterson earned a master’s degree in epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2022.
Michelle Clifton is a Statistical Genetic Analyst II working with the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center's Computational Neurogenomics Team. She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with her Bachelor of Science in Biology concentrating in Genetics and a minor in Mathematics. While at MTSU, Michelle worked in a cancer genetics lab where she identified abnormal mRNA splicing variants in different types of cancer. She later obtained a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she completed a thesis on evaluating association between periaortic adipose tissue and arterial stiffness across time. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys reading, traveling, and watching animal videos.
Alaina Durant is a Statistical Genetics Analyst in the Vanderbilt's Memory and Alzheimer's Center working with the Computational Neurogenomics Team. She graduated from NC State University with a BS in Biology with a Neurobiology concentration, and minors in Statistics and Genetics. She plans on pursuing a Masters in Genetic Counseling with a Neurology focus in the years to come. In her free time, Alaina enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs, Boo and Squirt, and bunny, Benji!