The Memory Disorders Program
The Team
R. Scott Turner, MD, PhD
Program Director
R. Scott Turner was appointed Professor of Neurology and Director of the Georgetown University Memory Disorders Program in August 2008. Prior to his recruitment to Georgetown, Dr. Turner served as Chief of the Neurology Service at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. He was also an Associate Professor and Associate Chairman at the University of Michigan Healthcare System’s Neurology Department. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and M.D. from Emory University. He completed his internship, residency, and fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and then joined the faculties of the University of Michigan, and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology.
Dr. Turner has directed a number of federal and foundation-funded research projects to study cognitive disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and its basic mechanisms, and clinical studies of neurodegenerative dementias. He has received numerous awards, including a Paul Beeson Scholarship and a fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He lectures widely at scientific conferences, serves as a reviewer for numerous biomedical journals, and is widely published in his field. He is a member of the American Neurological Association, the Society for Neuroscience, and the American Academy of Neurology.
Brigid Reynolds, ANP-BC
Clinic Coordinator & Nurse Practitioner
Brigid Reynolds joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2001. She received her Masters of Science in Nursing from the Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Emory University. Brigid is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Prior to joining the Memory Disorders Program, Brigid’s career focused on home care, primary care, and case management for elderly patients. Presently she is on Faculty at Georgetown University where she specializes in evaluating and treating patients with memory problems and is a Research Investigator conducting clinical trials of potential new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
Kathleen Johnson, MSN, ANP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Kathleen Johnson joined the Memory Disorders program in 2001. She received a Masters of Science in Nursing from the University of Southern California in 1995, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York in 1988. Her career has focused on evaluation and case management of the elderly in primary care and long-term care settings. Currently, Kathleen specializes in evaluating and treating patients with memory problems, and functions as a clinician in the research program. She is certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a member of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland.
Melanie Chadwick, RN, MS, NP
Nurse Practitioner
Melanie Chadwick is certified as an Adult and Gerontological Nurse Practitioner and joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2014. She received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from George Mason University in collaboration with George Washington University in 2007. She previously worked as a Hospice NP treating terminally ill older adults. Prior to hospice, she participated in a private neurology practice. Currently, Melanie specializes in evaluating and treating patients with memory problems, and functions as a clinician in the research program. She is also a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association.
Margaret J. Bassett, RN, MSN, NP
Nurse Practitioner
Margaret Bassett provides clinical care for older individuals with memory disorders and serves as a lead clinician in our research studies. Before joining the Memory Disorders Program in January 2017, she participated as a team-member in private neurology practices in the Washington, DC area. She received a Master of Science in Nursing from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Duke University. She is certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses.
Dr. Saurabh Sharma, MD
Physician
Dr. Saurabh Sharma is a board-certified Neurologist with subspeciality training in memory disorders/cognitive neurology. He received his training in Neurology at Drexel University College of Medicine, and then went on to complete a fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry at McLean and Massachusetts General Hospitals.
Dr. Sharma sees patients with cognitive disorders at GUMC and McLean, VA. He is also participating in clinical trials and research through our Memory Disorders Program.
Dr. James Bicksel, MD
Physician
Dr. James Bicksel is board certified in Neurology by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry. He is also certified in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. A native of North Carolina, he did his medical training in Neurology at Emory University in Atlanta, followed by a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Bicksel has been in practice in Northern Virginia since 2004 and joined the MedStar Georgetown Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in March of 2022. He previously worked with the Inova Health System, where he has served as Medical Director of the Inova Memory Center and was on the Ethics Committee at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was a Principal Investigator at Re:Cognition Health in Falls Church Virginia for the Phase 2 trial of Donanemab. He has served on the board of directors for the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area chapter and has lectured extensively to patient groups throughout Northern Virginia on the subject of dementia. He has been named as a Top Doctor by Washingtonian Magazine every year since 2019.
Carolyn Ward, MSPH
Program Coordinator
Carolyn Ward joined the Memory Disorders Program in 1999. She received a Master of Science degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina in 1983. Her career has focused on addressing aging and disability issues.
Prior to joining the Memory Disorders Program, she led the Membership Unit on Caregiving for the National Council on Aging and conducted research on long-term care for the National Association of State Units on Aging (now known as the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities).
Carolyn manages both the MDP clinic and study activities. She oversees the Georgetown Brain Bank where she educates families about the program, conducts the consenting process and handles logistics. Carolyn served on Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association, National Capital Area Chapter from 2003-2009. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Washington and was its President from 1993-1995.
Kelly Behan McCann, BA
Director of Clinical Trials
Kelly Behan joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2005. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and French from the University of Virginia in 2004.
As Director of Clinical Trials for the Department of Neurology, she is the primary liaison for Memory Disorders Program Clinical Trials. Kelly trains and oversees clinical research staff, manages MDP finance and operations, assists the MDP clinicians in their clinical practice and provides cognitive testing, visit coordination, and data management for the research trials.
Jessica Mallory, BA
Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager
Jessica Mallory joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2017. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Simmons College in 2014.
As the Regulatory Affairs Manager, Jessica oversees many items of study start-up from feasibility to site activation including training guidance, Informed Consent review, and ancillary department approvals. In her role, she also facilitates submissions to local and central Institutional Review Boards, as well as maintenance of Investigator Site Files.
Finally, she assists in department operations, manages trials, and administers various psychometric scales.
Angelica M. Forero, MSHA, M.A.
Clinical Trials Manager
Angelica joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2021. She received her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Texas Tech University in 2018, and a Master of Arts in Sociology from The University of Texas at El Paso in 2010. Her career has focused on health disparities and mental health disorders among Latinos and Hispanics.
As a Clinical Trials Manager for the MDP, Angelica is responsible for planning, overseeing clinical trials, supporting MDP clinicians and providing cognitive testing.
Emma Brennan, BS
Clinical Trials Coordinator
Emma Brennan joined the Memory Disorders Program in the Summer of 2022. She received her BS in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience and a Pre-Medicine minor in May of 2022 from James Madison University.
As a Clinical Trials Coordinator, Emma works with the clinicians, participants, clinical research staff, and many others to schedule and prepare for study visits while managing data for clinical studies.
Katie Seidenberg, BS
Clinical Trials Coordinator
Katie Seidenberg joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2022. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Pre-Medical minor from James Madison University in 2021.
As Clinical Trials Coordinator for the MDP, she oversees clinical research operations and PI initiated research. She is responsible for administering cognitive tests, assisting our clinicians, coordinating visit schedules, and managing data for research studies.
James Jaramillo
Research Assistant
James is currently an undergraduate at Georgetown University, and Research Assistant and Recruitment Coordinator at GU MDP. James is pursuing a Bachelors in Liberal Arts with a Minor in Business. He has worked in emergency medicine for five years as an EMT-B in the United States Army, and for two years volunteering in clinics with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. James has previously volunteered with the MDP for over a year now, and continues to aid the MDP in his current position performing outreach. His medical interests are primary care, geriatric care, and neurology.
Valued Partners and Clinics
Karen E. Anderson, MD
HDCERC Director
Karen E. Anderson, MD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Neurology and the Director of the Huntington Disease Care, Education and Research Center (HDCERC), a joint endeavor of Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. As Director, she leads a multidisciplinary team devoted to HD care, the first in the DC Metro area. Although her primary focus is HD, she is a psychiatrist with subspecialty certification in neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology. She worked at the Memory Disorders Clinic and the Gertrude Sergievsky Center for Alzheimer’s research in New York at Columbia Presbyterian and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She accepts Memory Disorders Program referrals and sees our patients in her clinic.
Yasar Torres-Yaghi, MD
Attending physician, Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic
(2 Thursdays a month at the MedStar Neurology Office on Beverly Road in McLean)
Yasar Torres-Yaghi, MD, is an attending physician at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Georgetown University Department of Neurology. He is one of 3 attending physicians who work with Movement Disorders Fellows in the Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic (held on Thursdays). This specialty clinic provides state-of-the-art clinical diagnosis and management to older individuals with cognitive and movement disorders (for example, Lewy body disease). Research opportunities are also discussed with interested and eligible individuals and their study partners/families/caregivers. Dr. Torres-Yaghi is a graduate of the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences and completed a residency in neurology and Fellowship in Movement Disorders at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2017.
Elizabeth Epstein Mundel, MD
Attending physician, Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic
(one Thursday a month on 7PHC)
Elizabeth Epstein Mundel, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She practices at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital and at Medstar Georgetown Neurology at Chevy Chase. Her areas of clinical interest include parkinsonian disorders, tremors, and memory disorders.
She graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2013 and was the recipient of its Clinical Scholar Award in Neurology. Dr. Mundel completed both her residency and a fellowship in movement disorders at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital by 2019. While a Fellow, she participated in the Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic and later became one of its three attending physicians in the Fall of 2021. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).
Galam Khan, HS, MD
Assistant Director, Georgetown Brain Bank
Galam Khan joined the Memory Disorders Program in 2019 and serves as the Georgetown Brain Bank’s Assistant Director, a Consultant Pathologist of the Histopathology Shared Resource, and an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University Medical Center. Galam is an academic neuropathologist and physician-scientist who studies neuroinflammatory and neurological conditions. He investigates the pathogenesis (the development of disease) and pathophysiology of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS and Multiple Sclerosis with the major goal of understanding how to prevent and find specific therapies for neuroinflammatory diseases.
Neuropsychology Associates of Fairfax
The NAF team conducts neuropsychological evaluations that involve the assessment of general intellectual functioning, executive functioning, attention/concentration, learning and memory, language, and mood/personality. Such an evaluation is typically recommended for cases where brain-based impairment in cognitive function or behavior is suspected. Referrals are made to evaluate an individual’s cognitive functioning in order to aid in the diagnosis or to rule-out various medical conditions.
Mary Elizabeth Quig, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Mary Elizabeth Quig, Ph.D. the founding partner of Neuropsychology Associates of Fairfax (NAF), has held a faculty appointment in the Department of Neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center since 1996 and has worked closely with the Georgetown Memory Disorders Program since its inception. Dr. Quig and her team at the Neuropsychology Associates of Fairfax collaborate with the Georgetown University Memory Disorders Program to assess patients. This team consists of doctorate level clinical neuropsychologists with an expertise in how behavior and skills are related to brain structures and systems. Neuropsychological evaluations occur at NAF’s main office in Fairfax, VA.
Robert L. Kane, Ph.D. ABPP-CN
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Dr. Kane is a clinical neuropsychologist board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology/American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. He completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Waco VA Medical Center and specialized postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Kane has extensive clinical experience assessing adults with a wide range of neurological disorders and brain injury. He has directed neuropsychology assessment clinics at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange New Jersey, the VA Maryland Health Care System, and in the department of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. In 1992 he helped start the first dementia clinic at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. He served as faculty for and has directed various neuropsychology postdoctoral training programs. He has worked in the areas of telemedicine and concussion and has managed research programs in neuroscience and Parkinson’s disease.
Brent Harris, M.D., PhD
Director of Neuropathology and the Georgetown Brain Bank
Dr. Harris is a tenured faculty member of Georgetown University with dual appointments in Neurology and Pathology. As a neuropathologist and physician-scientist Dr. Harris has clinical, research, and teaching interests in neurological and oncological diseases. He has active collaborations and research programs in his own lab in the areas of neurodegeneration and CNS neoplasia. His primary interest is in understanding how mechanisms of neuroinflammation and glial-neuronal communication influence the pathophysiology of neurological diseases. In addition to investigating disease processes he also seeks to uncover targets for pharmacological intervention. Dr. Harris serves as the Director of the following groups: Georgetown Brain Bank, POND Brain Bank, Target ALS Post mortem Core, MedStar Neuropathology, and GU Histopathology and Tissue Shared Resource. Externally he is on the Executive Committee for the American Association of Neuropathologists and Chairs the Neuropathology Committee for the College of American Pathologists. Dr. Harris is also the sole neuropathology consultant for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of DC.
Sehrish Khan, B.S.
Medical Assistant and Coordinator
Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic & Movement Disorders Clinic
Sehrish Khan joined GUH in 2021 the Memory Disorders Program in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in Global Economics and Management in 2019. She began working in the Neurology field in 2017. She serves as the Medical Assistant and Coordinator for the Parkinson’s and Dementia Clinic and for the Movement Disorders Clinic. She is also the Psychometrist for the Comprehensive Cognition Clinic, she performs all the Cognitive and Memory Evaluations for the two respective clinics.