Neuroimaging Studies of Depression in Parkinson's Disease

	Neuroimaging Studies of Depression in Parkinson's Disease

Home	The Study Team
Who Is Eligible for the Study?		Lee Xenakis Blonder, Ph.D., Professor of Behavioral Science, Neurology, and Anthropology, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts at Bard College, a Master of Arts degree in creative art from Hunter College, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. She did postdoctoral training in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida and joined the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1989. She is also a Faculty Associate of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on disorders of emotion and communication in patients with Parkinson’s disease and stroke. As the principal investigator, Dr. Blonder is involved in all aspects of this study including development of protocols, recruitment of participants, supervision of assessments, analysis of data, and preparation of progress reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
What Will Participants Be Asked to Do?
What is Parkinson's Disease
UK's Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence
Contact the Parkinson's Study		Anders Andersen, Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Biomedical Engineering, and a Faculty Associate in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center (MRISC) and the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Andersen has Master of Science degrees in electrophysics and electrical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, a Master of Science degree in biomedical engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Purdue University. His research focuses on mapping the spatial distribution of brain activation from functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data acquired during sensori-motor and cognitive tasks. In this project, Dr. Andersen conducts image processing of the MR data and implementation of associated analyses. Dr. Andersen also plays a critical role in the presentation and dissemination of findings.
Sanders-Brown Center on Aging

	No photo available	Frederick A. Schmitt, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, and Faculty Associate in the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, supervises the neuropsychological studies and assists in the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data.

		John T. Slevin, M.D., M.B.A., is a Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Molecular & Biomedical Pharmacology and the Director of the University of Kentucky Movement Disorders Clinic. He is also a Faculty Associate of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence. Dr. Slevin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University, an M.D. from the West Virginia University, and a master of business administration degree from the University of Kentucky. He served an internship in internal medicine at West Virginia University Hospital and a residency in neurology at the University of Virginia Hospital. Dr. Slevin received postdoctoral training in neuropharmacology at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include studies of Epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and pre-synaptic mechanisms of neurotransmission. Dr. Slevin supervises the recruitment of Parkinson patients, performs all neurologic examinations, and contributes to data interpretation and manuscript preparation.
		Charles D. Smith, M.D., is a Professor in the Departments of Neurology, Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Biomedical Engineering, and a Faculty Associate in the MRISC and the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence. He received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University and an M.D. from Tulane University. He served an internship in internal medicine and a residency in neurology at Dartmouth Medical School and received postdoctoral training at the University of Kentucky's MRISC. Dr. Smith’s research interests include neuroimaging studies of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Smith collaborates on the processing, analysis, and interpretation of data resulting from the MRI scans. He also oversees voxel-based morphometry analyses of regions of interest in the MR scans and. contributes to manuscript preparation.
		Catherine A. Martin, M.D., is Vice Chair for Research and E. A. Edwards Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She completed her medical, psychiatry and child psychiatry training at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Particular research and clinical interests include brain reward systems, the relationship of impulsivity, inattention, and nicotine use; pubertal changes and drug abuse liability, and individual differences in drug effects of drugs of abuse. She is also involved in the training of clinical researchers locally and nationally.
		Richard D. Kryscio, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics at King's College, a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in statistics at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and postdoctoral training in biostatistics at the National Cancer Institute. He is Director of both the Biostatistics and Data Management Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Biostatistics Consulting Unit at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. His research interests include epidemiology, spatial statistics, and statistical methodology used in clinical /translational research. In the current study, Dr. Kryscio advises the team regarding data management and performs inferential statistical analyses of the neuropsychological and MRI data.
		Greg A. Gerhardt, Ph.D., Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Neurology, received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Gerhardt is the Director of both the University of Kentucky's Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Center of Excellence and the Center for Sensor Technology. His research interests include dynamic neuropharmacology in Parkinson’s disease and aging, movement abnormalities in aging, and the dynamics of neurotransmitter function in the central nervous system. Dr. Gerhardt consults on neuropharmacologic issues related to the research including translational issues.
		Chris Miara, MA, received her Bachelor’s degree at Florida State University and her Master’s degree in Behavioral Science at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. She is licensed as a Psychological Associate in Kentucky and prior to joining the study team performed neuropsychological testing on inpatients and outpatients for the University of Kentucky Medical Center, the Memory Disorders Clinic at the Sanders Brown Center on Aging, and the Neurology clinic. For this project, Ms. Miara coordinates the recruitment and scheduling of patient visits, administers all neuropsychological assessments, oversees data management, maintains funding agency and university documentation, and ensures the fulfillment of grant objectives.