vibrantBrains Scientific Advisory Board
Katherine P Andriole, MD, PhD
Harvard University
Dr. Katherine P. (Kathy) Andriole has been involved in biomedical imaging informatics for over twenty years carrying out research, teaching and clinical service and administrative activities. She received a B.S.E. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and was a member of the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training M.D., Ph.D. Program at Yale University, receiving her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering, specializing in the areas of medical image processing, analysis and recognition. Dr. Andriole was instrumental in designing, building and implementing an electronic medical imaging system at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), as well as one of the early adopters of digital computed radiography. She was an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at UCSF and in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California at Berkeley where she taught biomedical imaging and informatics.
Dr. Andriole is currently an Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and the Assistant Medical Director of Imaging Information Technologies for the Department of Radiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). In this role she is responsible for overseeing all medical imaging information technology activities at BWH, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and other BWH-associated community hospitals. Dr. Andriole is also the Director of Imaging Informatics at the Center for Evidence-Based Imaging where she is responsible for the research and educational activities in the Department of Radiology.
Dr. Andriole has directed student and postdoctoral research in medical imaging, teaches several formal classes which she initiated and created, and lectures widely on CR, DR, PACS, and imaging informatics to scientists as well as the general public. In 2006 she gave the British Institute of Radiology Honorary Mayneord Memorial Lecture at the United Kingdom Radiological Congress. Dr. Andriole co-authored with the late Henry I. Goldberg, M.D., the first UCSF digital book “Introduction to Clinical Imaging” for teaching medical students basic radiology. She has developed and taught several formal courses and fellowship rotations at UCSF, UC Berkeley and at BWH, and is involved in creating teaching activities and materials using the computer and information technologies. Dr. Andriole has received awards and recognition for her teaching skills and innovations.
Julene K Johnson, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Julene K Johnson received her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Texas (Dallas) and a Bachelors of Music from Southern Methodist University. She did her postdoctoral training with Dr. Carl Cotman at UC Irvine.
Dr. Johnson is a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Associate Professor of Neurology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Dr. Johnson leads the California Non-Alzheimer disease Diagnostic Reliability Consortium with UCSF, UCLA, UC Davis, UCSD, UC Irvine, and USC. The purpose of this project is to evaluate diagnostic reliability and accuracy of non-Alzheimer disease dementias. She also studies the perception of music in dementia.
Her research interests include cognitive and neuropathological studies of mild cognitive impairment, frontotemporal dementia, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. She is particularly interested in the frontal cortex and executive function, especially in the pre-clinical stages of dementia.
Larry McCleary, MD
Dr. McCleary is the former acting Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Denver Children’s Hospital. He is trained and has practiced as a pediatric neurosurgeon and has completed post-graduate training in theoretical physics. His scientific publications span the fields of metabolic medicine, tumor immunology, biotechnology and neurological disease. He has lectured to audiences around the world and is an Expert Contributor for SharpBrains, a research & advisory company that provides information and guidance to navigate the cognitive and brain fitness market. His current research interests involve the investigation of unique nutritional and metabolic approaches designed to beneficially impact optimal health, especially for those over 45. His special areas of expertise involve the cardiovascular and neurological systems.
Dr. McCleary is the author of the bookThe Brain Trust Program,which is a scientifically based three-part plan to improve memory, elevate mood, enhance attention, alleviate migrane and menopausal symptoms, and boost mental energy.
Michael W McDermott, MD
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. McDermott’s clinical specialty interests include stereotactic neurosurgery and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery, in particular for tumors of the central nervous system, meningiomas, and skull base surgery. Co-director of the UCSF Gamma Knife® Radiosurgery Program, he also practices in the Department’s Adult Brain Tumor Program, Clinical Neuro-Oncology Program, Central Nervous System Infections and AIDS Program, and Hydrocephalus and Shunt Program for Adults.
Dr. McDermott’s research includes studies related to malignant meningiomas and novel agents for treatment, toxicity to normal tissue after radiosurgery in a rat model, and the ability of a biologic compound to enhance the delivery of oxygen to tumors and thereby increase the effectiveness of therapy. Dr. McDermott’s clinical research is focused on correlations of intraoperative tumor pathology with spectroscopy of genetic markers in primary brain tumors and comparative genomic hybridization techniques, and he is a participating research clinician in the human gene therapy clinical trials at UCSF.
Jennifer Merrilees, RN, MS
University of California, San Francisco
Jennifer Merrilees received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco and is certified by the American Nurses Association in Gerontological Nursing.
Jennifer is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF School of Nursing and a Clinical Nurse Specialist at the UCSF Memory & Aging Center. Ms. Merrilees is part of a multidisciplinary team focused on the evaluation and management of people with cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Her work at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center focuses on behavioral symptoms in dementia and support and education for dementia family caregivers. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in nursing with a focus on rest-activity disruptions in patients and the impact on family caregivers. She is interested in exploring strategies that promote health and well-being.
Tonita Wroolie, PhD, MA
Stanford University
Tonita Wroolie is a Clinical Instructor at the Center for Neuroscience in Women’s Health, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine where she leads the neurocognitive assessment clinic. She is also adjunct faculty at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, California. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology and her M.A. in Health Psychology at Stanford University. Her post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology was at the Veteran’s Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.