David Loewenstein, PhD, ABPP/CN

Dr. David Loewenstein is the Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and Director of the Division of Neuropsychology. Previously, Dr. Loewenstein served as Director of Neuropsychology Laboratories and Research at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL and Chief of Psychology for Jackson Memorial Hospital. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health at the University of Miami for more than 25 years and has brought in over 21 million dollars in Federal and State grants. His work is regularly published in top scientific journals and is considered cutting-edge. Dr. Loewenstein’s laboratory has a long history in the development of innovative cognitive and neuropsychological instruments and examining their relationship with biomarkers of brain health (amyloid and tau PET scans and CSF, MRI, fMRI). Dr. Loewenstein developed the first scale for the direct assessment of functional capacity in Alzheimer’s disease which has been translated into numerous languages. Most recently, Dr. Loewenstein and associates developed the Loewenstein and Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L), a cognitive stress test to address the concern that current neuropsychological measures may not capture the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease. The LASSI-L is a sensitive marker of the early manifestations of AD and has been increasingly adapted by other laboratories.

Susan Halloran Blanton, PhD

Dr. Blanton received her PhD in Human Genetics from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia. She obtained post-doctoral training in Biostatistics (University of Pittsburgh) and Population Oncology (Fox Chase Cancer Center). Her primary research has focused on the mapping of genes for Mendelian and complex diseases; she has been instrumental in studies identifying over twenty genes/loci for Mendelian disorders. Stroke and the underlying genetics of its risk factors, deafness, retinal diseases, skeletal dysplasias, cleft lip/palate, and clubfoot are among the diseases which she currently studies. She collaborates with Drs. Sacco, Wright and Rundek to identify genetic factors influencing white matter and cognition and their relation to ageing. In addition, she has been involved in developing and implementing genetic education materials for Federal and appellate level judges and science writers in an ELSI sponsored project. Dr. Blanton is the Executive Director of the Hussman Institute for Human Genomics as well as the Associate Director of Communications and Compliance. She is an Associate Professor in the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics.
[/av_textblock]

Elizabeth Crocco, MD

Dr. Elizabeth Crocco received her MD from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. She then completed her residency training in general psychiatry at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She specializes in geriatric psychiatry, and completed her fellowship at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Crocco is currently the Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine. As the Medical Director of the University of Miami Memory Disorder Clinic, within the University of Miami’s Center on Aging she oversees the coordination of clinical services at the MDC. As a clinical scientist she also participates in research on caregiving and the development of measures to diagnosis MCI and PRE-MCI. She also serves as the geriatric psychiatry training director at Jackson Memorial Hospital and facilitates the primary training and supervision of all geriatric psychiatry fellows, psychiatry residents, medical students and other physicians/health care professionals.

Sonya S. Kaur, PhD

Dr. Kaur was born and raised in Singapore. She moved to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.  She completed her internship in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She currently serves as an Instructor in the Division of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

She conducts neuropsychological assessments for a range of neurological and psychiatric populations including but not limited to pre-and post-neurosurgery evaluations, cardiovascular disease and stroke, epilepsy, autoimmune conditions, movement disorders and dementias. She is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and is interested in applying therapeutic techniques to treat poor sleep in a range of neurological conditions.

Dr. Kaur’s research focuses on mechanistic pathways that mediate cognitive impairment in aging. She has a special interest in examining the impact of lifestyle interventions (e.g. exercise, sleep) on markers of disease progression in a variety of neurodegenerative processes.

Katalina Fernández McInerney, PhD

Dr. McInerney’s research focuses on intervention and rehabilitation strategies for neurologically compromised individuals along with the understanding and promotion of healthy aging. She is currently engaged in research examining neuropsychological and affective changes associated with frailty in older age and the effect of moderate and high intensity exercise on sedentary individuals. Additionally, she is involved in several studies examining decision making, including identifying markers of competency in healthy cognitive aging. She is working on a screening questionnaire to assess financial and medical capacity in Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals with mild cognitive impairment and the oldest old. Her prior research focused on the neurocognitive correlates of hazard perception and probabilistic learning in healthy aging older adults.

Save

Roger McIntosh, PhD

Dr. McIntosh’s work broadly examines risk factors associated with accelerated cognitive aging in chronic disease populations. His previous work addressed how cognitive-emotional impairment impacts disease management amongst persons living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Currently, Dr. McIntosh utilizes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to focus on how cardiovascular disease risk factors, inflammatory-immune biomarkers and psychological distress impact the neural circuitry underpinning cognitive processes such as executive function, episodic memory and interoceptive awareness. Dr. McIntosh was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health (NHLBI) K01 award to conduct an fMRI study examining how HIV impacts the neural substrates underpinning cardio-autonomic regulation amongst HIV+ individuals at risk for developing hypertension. [/av_textblock]

Miguel A. Perez-Pinzon, PhD

A major emphasis in our group is directed towards understanding the mechanisms of neuroprotection by ischemic preconditioning (IPC) against cerebral ischemia (as elicited by a stroke or cardiac arrest). We have demonstrated in brain that IPC is mediated by two key signaling pathways. One of these pathways is a protein kinase C isozyme epsilon. Another signaling pathway involves the NAD+-dependent class III histone deacetylase SIRT1. Our laboratory is fully engaged in defining how these signaling pathways protect neurons against cell death. We are currently studying how these pathways alter synaptic plasticity and ameliorate mitochondrial function.

Another area of emphasis in our group is defining mechanisms by which some signaling pathways alter synaptic function following cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary arrest remains one of the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S.A. The chances of survival following cardiac arrest are poor, despite fast emergency responses and better techniques of defibrillation. Cardiac arrest with its consequent disruption of blood flow sets in motion a cascade of cellular derangements that result in brain damage.

A third area of emphasis in our group is the definition of the mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction following cerebral ischemia. It has been postulated that delayed cell death after brain ischemia may result from two different mechanisms: apoptosis and/or necrosis. In both pathways however, mitochondrial dysfunction appears to play a pivotal role. We are currently investigating the signaling pathways that lead to mitochondrial dysfunction following cerebral ischemia.

Alberto Ramos, MD, MSPH, FAASM

Dr. Alberto Ramos is Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology and Research Director of the Sleep Disorders program at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine.  Dr. Ramos’s research is aimed at the intersection between sleep disorders, cerebrovascular disease and neurocognitive aging in population based studies. Dr. Ramos completed a diversity supplement grant from the NIH/NINDS, aimed to determine the sleep disorders associated to stroke risk factors and cognitive decline in the Northern Manhattan Study. He is also an investigator of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL); where He serves as primary consultant for Sleep Research at the Miami field site. Dr. Ramos is supported by NIH/NIA to evaluate sleep phenotypes, neurocognitive decline and incident dementia in HCHS/SOL. He is also supported by NIH/NLBI to determine the sleep phenotypes that predict cardiovascular disease in HCHS/SOL. He was the site-PI for the Sueño study-Sleep as a Risk Factor for Disease in HCHS/SOL – Field Center at the University of Miami. This NHLBI ancillary study evaluated the determinants of abnormal sleep patterns with actigraphy and their effect on cardiometabolic diseases.  Dr. Ramos was also the principal investigator of an HCHS/SOL ancillary study evaluating sleep apnea and cerebral hemodynamics as an early marker of cerebrovascular risk at the Miami field site. Dr. Ramos is a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and was the Chair of the Young Investigator Research Forum-American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation in 2019.

 

Ami Pravinkant Raval, PhD

Dr.  Ami P. Raval serves as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. She had previous training in the physiology of reproduction. She coupled her prior knowledge with laboratory research on the pathophysiology of stroke. Her research focuses on (1) understanding the effects of estrogen on neuronal survival after ischemic episode, and (2) the role of nicotine addiction on beneficial effects of estrogen on hippocampal neurons subjected to ischemia. The results of her laboratory research indicate that nicotine addiction makes females more susceptible to ischemic brain damage. The severity of ischemic brain damage is far greater in females simultaneously exposed to oral contraceptives than to nicotine only. Overall her study aim to identify the mechanism of deleterious effects of nicotine that are unique to the female brain and the acquired knowledge will guide us towards novel pharmacological strategies specific for women.

Regina Vontell, PhD

Dr. Vontell received her PhD in Neurobiology at the School of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Research from King’s College London and Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. Her primary research has focused on the inflammatory mediators in the brain and their relation to complex diseases; she has been instrumental in studies that identify potential targets for neuronal inflammation. She collaborates with Drs. Scott, Sun, and Rutherford (King’s College London) to identify factors influencing white matter pathology in fetal development and in the ageing population. In addition, she has been involved in developing and implementing educational rotations for the University of Miami Neuroscience Graduate Program. She serves on the editorial board for the journal of Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience.