UF Women of Neuro » McKnight Brain Institute

In July 2021, we began highlighting some of the incredible women leading our research initiatives at the McKnight Brain Institute. Check out some of our fearless leaders below!

Director, UF Department of Neurology Residency Program

Dr. Christina Wilson

Dr. Wilson currently provides stroke care for hospitalized patients and supervises resident continuity clinic. She also handles didactic training of stroke mechanisms of disease and mentors stroke fellows, medical students and residents. Dr. Wilson’s main interests lie in neurology graduate medical education and clinical stroke management.

Christina Wilson, Director, UF Department of Neurology Residency Program: "As a medical educator, I have the privilege of seeing residents start with an initial spark of passion and transform into knowledgeable, independent practitioners. My advice is to share your vision for your career and not hold back. This will keep you on track and allow your mentors to identify opportunities to help you get there."

Chair of UF’s Department of Physical Therapy

Dr. Krista Vandenborne

Dr. Vandenborne’s work presents a multidisciplinary, integrated research approach to study muscle degeneration/regeneration from a pathophysiological level to functional impairment. Her research uses MRI & spectroscopy to study skeletal muscle in patients, and she is leading a translational research program focused on developing and validating biomarkers in muscular dystrophy.

M-BI-'s Women of Neuro presents: Krista Vandenborne

neuropsychology director of the movement disorders and neurorestoration program at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health

Dr. Dawn Bowers

Dr. Bowers is internationally known for her expertise in neurocognitive and emotion processing changes associated with age related disorders including Parkinson disease, Essential Tremor, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurologic disorders. Her research has spanned laterality, attention and memory, and neuropsychology of emotion using TMS, ERP, psychophysiology, near infrared stimulation, computational modeling, and face digitizing.

“I was fortunate to have marvelous mentors whose actions and values helped guide my career. From them, I learned to find my passion, be bold and think outside the box. They modeled the best of interdisciplinary science, which I’ve tried to emulate. Because I love what I do, I have rarely considered it work, but rather a part of my life story.” - dawn bowers

Director of Research for the Department of Neurology’s Division of Neurocritical Care

Dr. Carolina Maciel

Dr. Maciel is a neurointensivist with dedicated training in EEG monitoring in critically ill patients. Dr. Maciel’s areas of scientific focus include neuroprognostication, secondary brain injury mechanisms while understanding the impact of cortical electrical phenomena after acute brain injuries, novel therapeutic approaches to status epilepticus and acute pain, and the critical care management of the potential organ donor.

Graphic: [headline] U-F's Women of Neuro. [quote] “I aspire to serve as a role model for all members of the team, particularly in demonstrating that putting your heart and soul into everything you do always pays off. For me, being a leader means inspiring each person who crosses paths with me to push their ceiling higher, whatever that might be and in whichever role they are in.” Carolina Maciel, M-D, M-S-C-R Director of Research, Division of Neurocritical Care UF Department of Neurology. Doctor maciel is a latino woman with short brown hair standing in an office with a colorful string of garland behind her.

Director of the Mangurian Clinical-Research Headquarters for Lewy Body Dementia at the Fixel Institute

Dr. Melissa Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong’s research focuses on the lived experience of disease for individuals with Lewy body dementia and their families, ranging from patient and caregiver priorities for care to hospital outcomes to end-of-life experiences.

photo of doctor armstrong with the quote: "When I first started my neurology residency training, there were no women faculty where I worked. We are in the midst of an exciting time when more women are entering and excelling in the field of neurology. Mentoring this next generation, regardless of gender, is one of my passions."

medical director of the UF Health Shands Neurointensive Care Unit

Dr. Katharina Busl

Dr. Katharina Busl is the medical director of the UF Health Shands Neurointensive Care Unit and UF’s neurocritical care division chief. Her research interests center around care innovations and quality of care in neurocritical care.

Graphic with photo of Katarina Busl and quote"I encourage women in neurology to find their passion within the field and then go for it. Everything has a different spin to it when you love what you do. Make sure to consider how you will balance your professional and personal lives and surround yourself with a strong support network, both at work and at home."

Director of the Center for Addiction Research & Education

Dr. Sara Jo Nixon

Dr. Nixon is a clinical researcher in the area of substance abuse and dependence. Due to the complex nature of substance abuse, her work uses comprehensive behavioral assessments including neuropsychological testing, brain electrophysiology, and clinical research interviews.

Sara Jo Nixon, director of the center for Addiction Research & Education: "To me, true leadership means not backing down when faced with persistent challenges and modeling that perseverance. It means welcoming difficult questions and encouraging critical thinking in order to build a foundation that will lead us to exceptional innovation. Ultimately, success comes from meeting your own expectations — take time to know what those expectations are."

Director of the Perioperative Cognitive Anesthesia Network (PeCAN)

Dr. Catherine Price

Dr. Price’s research is devoted to studying the neuropsychology of older adults with and without dementia and neuroanatomical dissociates on older adults’ cognitive functioning and cognitive change.

portrait of Dr. price next to a body of text that reads: "It’s imperative that we create new opportunities for the younger generation of diverse researchers. We can do this by encouraging them to be creative, to discuss their views and to build bridges with others. We can model how to stay persistent and teach them the value of strong communication skills in advancing their research."

interim chair of UF’s department of psychiatry

Dr. Carol Mathews

Dr. Mathews is a renowned clinician and translational researcher in the areas of obsessive-compulsive disorder, tics and anxiety disorders.

mathews smiles in her office in front of a multi

Co-Director of UF’s Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dr. Malú Gámez Tansey

Dr. Tansey’s research explores the role and regulation of neuroinflammatory and immune system responses in modulating the gene-environment interactions that determine risk for development and progression of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease.

Doctor Tansey is our next Women of Neuro

Associate Director of UF’s Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory

Dr. Sara Burke

Dr. Burke’s research investigates mechanisms of cognition and determining how diet and metabolic function can increase resilience to memory loss in aging and disease. To answer these questions, her lab integrates data across multiple levels of analysis that includes neurophysiology, gene expression, anatomy and behavioral assays.

Photo of doctor Sara Burke next to a graphic that reads, "University of Florida: Women of Neuro. ""It is incredibly important for researchers in the neurobiology of aging field to foster an interest among trainees from marginalized groups and first-generation students. There is still a lot of progress to be made to understand and treat cognitive aging. Our field will be better equipped to tackle unsolved problems if we are listening to a broad range of diverse and interdisciplinary perspectives." - Sara Burke, p-h-D, Associate Director of the Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory

Associate Director of UF’s Pain Research & Intervention Center of Excellence

Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida

Dr. Cruz-Almeida’s research is focused on understanding age-related pain perception and modulation in humans. Her research examines nervous system factors contributing to the observed inter-individual differences in pain phenotypes and its functional consequences including cognitive and mobility impairments.

“Building your perseverance and resilience are key to becoming a great scientist. When you fail, whether it’s an experiment or a beautiful grant proposal you’ve been working tirelessly on, you have to persevere and know that your worth is not determined by your failure.”

Director of UF’s Center for NeuroGenetics

Dr. Laura Ranum

Dr. Ranum’s research focuses on the role of Repeat Associated Non-ATG (RAN) translation, RNA gain of function and protein gain of function in repeat expansion disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) types 5 and 8, myotonic dystrophy (DM) types 1 and 2 and Huntington’s disease (HD).

Former Chair of UF’s Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Regina Bussing

Dr. Bussing currently holds the position of professor and chief of faculty development in the department of psychiatry at UF. Her research expertise spans mental health services, measure development, pharmaco-epidemiology, psychotherapy intervention, and clinical pharmacology trials research.

Chair of UF’s Department of Neuroscience

Dr. Jennifer Bizon

Dr. Jennifer Bizon is a professor and chair of the department of neuroscience. Her research is broadly focused on understanding brain aging and its implications for cognitive function. She participates in the training of medical students, graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows.