
Amanda Arulpragasam, PhD

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Amanda Arulpragasam, PhD
Investigator
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Psychologist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Arulpragasam is a clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She received her B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in Linguistics from Duke University. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Emory University and completed her Clinical Psychology Internship at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth/ Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. She then completed her postdoctoral research fellowship in Neuroimaging and Neuromodulation at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology at VA Providence. She joined the Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology in 2021 and the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in 2024. Dr. Arulpragasam’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying motivated behavior and decision-making. This work has emphasized a translational approach that integrates neuroimaging, non-invasive brain stimulation, and computational modeling to characterize motivational and decision-making processes in mood disorders. She is currently conducting several studies exploring the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and low intensity focused ultrasound on clinical symptoms as well as behavioral and neural measures of anhedonia in patients with depression.

Jennifer Barredo, PhD

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Jennifer Barredo, PhD
Core Lead
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Research Health Scientist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Brown University
Dr. Barredo holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Washington (2006) and a PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University (2013). She joined the Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology in 2015 and the faculty of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University’s Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior in 2017. Her research uses neuroimaging and computational approaches to investigate brain signatures of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, disorders of emotional regulation, and treatment response.

Yosef Berlow, MD, PhD

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Yosef Berlow, MD, PhD

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Staff Psychiatrist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Berlow received his BA in Psychology and BS in Behavioral Neuroscience from Lehigh University and his MD and PhD from Oregon Health & Science University in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience. He completed his psychiatry residency in NIMH-sponsored R25 Research Training Program at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Berlow’s research has focused on utilizing neuroimaging and statistical modeling techniques to investigate psychiatric disorders and identify biomarkers of treatment response to noninvasive neuromodulation treatments, including transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation.

David Borton, PhD

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David Borton, PhD

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Research Biomedical Engineer
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor of Engineering
Brown University
Dr. Borton received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006 and his PhD in Bioengineering from Brown University in 2012. He then received the Marie Curie IIF award for Brain-spinal interface research conducted at the Swiss National Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland under the direction of Gregoire Courtine. David leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers focused on the design, development, and implementation of novel neural interfaces for understanding both basic science of, and functional applications to neuromotor diseases.

Christy Capone, PhD

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Christy Capone, PhD

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Staff Psychologist, PTSD-SUD Specialist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor (Research)
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University
Dr. Capone is a clinical psychologist whose primary research interests are in the treatment of co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD) in military veterans. Dr. Capone received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS), she accepted a position as PTSD-SUD Specialist at the Providence VA Medical Center. Through her work with veterans, Dr. Capone became interested in treatments that address moral injury and trauma-related guilt and shame. Currently, Dr. Capone is PI on a Department of Defense randomized, clinical trial of Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) therapy with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. This study was recently extended in order to pilot the same intervention related to guilt stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Capone also recently launched a pilot trial of stellate ganglion block (SGB) paired with exposure therapy for combat-related PTSD. This study is funded by CfNN and represents Dr. Capone’s continuing commitment to studying innovative and adjunctive treatments for PTSD and comorbid conditions.

Stephen Correia, PhD

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Stephen Correia, PhD
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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior
Director, Postdoctoral Clinical Neuropsychology Specialty ProgramBrown University
Dr. Correia is a Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist. His doctorate is from the University of Rhode Island. He completed a clinical internship at the Malcolm Randall VAMC in Gainesville, Florida and then completed clinical and research postdoctoral fellowships at Butler Hospital in Brown University’s Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. His research focuses on diffusion tensor imaging in aging and dementia and early detection of Alzheimer’s disease with secondary foci on traumatic brain injury.

Camila Cosmo, MD, MSc, PhD

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Camila Cosmo, MD, MSc, PhD
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Psychiatry Chief Resident
Brown University
Originally from Brazil, Dr. Camila Cosmo earned her M.D. from Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, her M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Neurophysiology/Neuropsychiatry from Universidade Federal da Bahia, and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. In 2019, she joined Brown University and has trained in the General Psychiatry Program in the NIMH R25-funded research track, also serving as chief resident. Her research focuses on underlying mechanistic aspects of neuromodulation techniques, particularly rTMS and tDCS, and their applicability in the modulation of neuropsychiatric disorders marked by impulsivity and its correlated brain networks.

Erica Eaton, PhD

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Erica Eaton, PhD

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Clinical Psychologist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral and Social SciencesAlpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Eaton received her PhD in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University in 2014. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, specializing in PTSD. Over the past several years, Dr. Eaton has been developing a program of research focused on the development and examination of complementary and integrative treatment approaches for co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders (PTSD-SUD) with Veterans. Specifically, her clinical work with this population has illuminated the common clinical issue of moral injury and how it can be refractory to current treatment approaches. Currently, Dr. Eaton is PI on a Department of Veteran Affairs SPiRE award examining Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) for combat deployed Veterans with co-occurring PTSD-SUD and moral injury.

William Curt LaFrance, MD, MPH

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William Curt LaFrance, MD, MPH
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Staff Physician
Tele-Seizures Clinical Lead
VA National Telemental Health CenterVA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Professor, Department of NeurologyAlpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. LaFrance studied at Wake Forest University (BA in psychology), Medical College of Georgia (MD) and Brown University (MPH). He came to Brown in 1995 for his internship in internal medicine and completed the combined residency in neurology and psychiatry at Brown, and he is boarded in both neurology and in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. After residency, he completed a Clinical Research Fellowship in Combined Treatments at Brown University with an institutional NIH T-32 National Research Service Award. Dr. LaFrance has received grants from the EF, AES, Siravo Foundation, the VA and DoD, and an NINDS K23 Award. He directed the combined residency at Brown from 2012-2019 and has served as research advisor or mentor to psychiatry, neurology and neuropsychiatry residents and faculty and to Brown undergraduates in neurobiology and psychology. He trains clinicians around the country using distance supervision in treatment delivery for seizures and somatoform disorders. His research interests focus on developing new biomarkers and treatments for neuropsychiatric aspects of epilepsy, conversion (functional) / somatoform disorders and TBI.

Mascha (van ’t Wout) Frank, PhD

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Mascha (van ’t Wout) Frank, PhD

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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. van ’t Wout-Frank received her masters degree in neuropsychology and her PhD in cognitive neuropsychiatry from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She received a Rubicon Award from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research that allowed her to do a postdoctoral fellowship in the Neural Decision Science Laboratory at the University of Arizona Department, before she moved to Brown University. Although Dr. van ’t Wout-Frank’s specific research interests have changed over the years, the overarching theme is on emotion processing and how disturbances in emotion processes are related to psychiatric symptoms. Currently, her research focuses on the application and effectiveness of non-invasive brain stimulation to improve and expand treatment options for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder to restore function.

Susan Fasoli, ScD, OTR/L

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Susan Fasoli, ScD, OTR/L
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Research Health Scientist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor, Occupational Therapy
MGH Institute of Health Professions
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Visiting Scientist, Engineering
Brown University
Dr. Fasoli holds a ScD in Therapeutic Studies from Boston University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005. She has been a member of the VA-CfNN team since 2011 with expertise in neurorehabilitation. Dr. Fasoli’s research interests include the integration of robot-assisted therapy and cognitive strategy training for the remediation of upper limb impairments after stroke, outcome assessment, and treatment specification to facilitate clinical reasoning and the translation of research evidence to clinical education and practice.

Benjamin Greenberg, MD, PhD

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Benjamin Greenberg, MD, PhD
Director
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Director, CfNN
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
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Director, COBRE Center for Neuromodulation
Butler Hospital
Dr. Benjamin Greenberg is the new Center’s director of the VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology (CfNN) on March 6, 2024. He earned a PhD in Neurosciences from the University of California, San Diego, and an MD from the University of Miami. He trained in Neurology at Columbia University, and completed a psychiatry residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After residency, he worked for the Laboratory of Clinical Science at the National Institute of Mental Health where he subsequently became Chief of the Adult Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Research Unit, where he initiated studies in OCD using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). His primary research continues to be developing brain circuit-based therapies for OCD and more recently PTSD.
In 2000, Dr. Greenberg joined the OCD Research Group at Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School in Providence, with research focusing on psychiatric neurosurgery including ventral capsulotomy for OCD and deep brain stimulation for OCD and depression. He became Director of the COBRE Center for Neuromodulation at Butler Hospital in 2019. Previously, he joined the Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology at the Providence VA, becoming its Associate Director in 2016, where his focus is noninvasive brain stimulation. He has treated veteran and non-veteran patients with OCD, PTSD, and related illnesses as a clinical psychiatrist for three decades. He is the former Chief of Outpatient Services at Butler Hospital.

Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD

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Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD
Associate Director
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Associate Director, CfNN
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor of Engineering
Brown University
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Director, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery,
Department of Neurology
Neurologist, Neurocritical Care and Acute Stroke ServicesMassachusetts General Hospital
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Senior Lecturer on Neurology
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Hochberg is Associate Director of the VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology (CfNN), and is a vascular and critical care neurologist and neuroscientist. His research focuses on the development and testing of novel neurotechnologies to help people with paralysis and other neurologic disorders, and on understanding cortical neuronal ensemble activities in humans. In addition to his role at CfNN, Dr. Hochberg has appointments as Professor of Engineering, School of Engineering and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University; Neurologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, where he attends in the NeuroICU and on the Acute Stroke service; and Senior Lecturer on Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He also directs the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery for MGH Neurology (cntr.mgh.harvard.edu), where he is the IDE Sponsor-Investigator and Principal Investigator of the BrainGate pilot clinical trials (www.braingate.org) that are conducted by a close collaboration of clinicians, scientists, and engineers at Providence VAMC, Brown, Case Western Reserve University, MGH, and Stanford University. Dr. Hochberg is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. Dr. Hochberg’s BrainGate research, which has been published Nature, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, the Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Neural Engineering, and others, is supported by the Rehabilitation R&D Service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Institutes of Health including NCMRR/NICHD, NIDCD, NINDS, and the BRAIN Initiative.

Richard N. Jones, ScD

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Richard N. Jones, ScD
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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Associate Professor, Department of NeurologyAlpert Medical School of Brown University

Stephanie R. Jones, PhD

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Stephanie R. Jones, PhD
Core Lead-
Research Health Scientist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Brown University
Dr. Jones received her doctorate in mathematics from Boston University, followed by training in neuroscience and human magneto- and electro-encephalography (MEG/EEG) at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Jones’ research program integrates these disciplines to develop biophysically principled computational neural models that bridge the critical gap between human MEG/EEG brain imaging signals and their underlying cellular and network level generators. Her group developed their unique neural modeling into a user friendly software tool for researchers and clinicians to interpret the circuit origin of their human MEG/EEG data: Human Neocortical Neurosolver. A primary goal is to translate an understanding of the network mechanism underlying non-invasively measured brain signals into brain stimulation strategies to improve disrupt brain function.

David J. Lin, MD

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David J. Lin, MD
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Neurologist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Neurointensive Care Faculty, Department of Neurology
Massachusetts General Hospital
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Instructor in Neurology
Harvard University
Dr. David Lin is a neurorehabilitation specialist at Providence VA Medical Center. He is also a critical care neurologist and directs the Neurorecovery Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Lin is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and completed his clinical training (neurology residency and dual fellowships in neurocritical care and neurorecovery) at Mass General Brigham / Harvard Medical School. His research involves understanding mechanisms of brain plasticity after stroke to inform the development of novel neurotherapeutics to improve stroke recovery.

Timothy Mariano, MD, PhD, MSc

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Timothy Mariano, MD, PhD, MSc
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Staff Psychiatrist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Adjunct Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Mariano received a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Harvard College and a Master of Science in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Oxford. He completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at Case Western Reserve University, receiving an MD and PhD in biomedical engineering. He then completed a research-track psychiatry residency at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Mariano’s research focuses on developing novel technologies to treat neuropsychiatric diagnoses such as major depressive disorder and chronic pain. These approaches include noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) modalities–such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFUS)–and telehealth. He was previously faculty at Harvard Medical School and Medical Director in late-stage clinical development at Sage Therapeutics, Inc. He currently serves as Vice President and Medical Director of Woebot Health.

John McGeary, PhD

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John McGeary, PhD
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Clinical Psychologist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor (Research), Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. McGeary completed doctoral level programs in neuroscience, behavior genetics, and clinical psychology. He actively collaborates on 65+ research projects with investigators at Brown, affiliated hospitals and collaborating institutions and consortia (e.g., Million Veteran Program) around the country. Dr. McGeary’s research interests include: 1) genetic and epigenetic variation associated with psychiatric and behavioral phenotypes (and recently with phenotypes of interest to researchers in Dermatology, Surgery, Infectious Disease, Neuroscience, Computer science, Gerontology, and Public Health); 2) the role of sleep in suicide, addiction, and other psychopathology; and 3) the use of neurostimulation for treatment of addiction. Particular strengths in his research portfolio include studies of addiction phenotypes, anxiety phenotypes, mood phenotypes, nonpsychiatric behavioral phenotypes (e.g., sleep, exercise, & obesity) and pharmacogenetics (the use of genetic profiles to predict medication efficacy and side-effects).

Stephen Mernoff, MD, FAAN

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Stephen Mernoff, MD, FAAN
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Chief of Neurology Section
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor of Neurology, Clinical Educator
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Mernoff attended NYU School of Medicine and completed his residency in Neurology at Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) and fellowships in Neurorehabilitation, Memory Disorders and TBI at BUMC/Braintree Hospital. He is a general neurologist specializing in Neurorehabilitation and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and leads PVAMC’s Polytrauma/TBI and Spinal Cord Injury/ALS Teams. Dr. Mernoff is an Investigator at the Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology at PVAMC and an affiliated investigator at the Brown Institute for Brain Science. His research interests include brain-machine interfaces (he is Clinical Co-Investigator at PVAMC for the Braingate project), TBI, and stroke rehabilitation.

Noah Philip, MD

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Noah Philip, MD
Focus Area Lead-
Psychiatrist, Director of the Psychiatric Neuromodulation Clinic
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Philip received his BSc from McGill University and his MD from Albany Medical College where he graduated AOA and with a Distinction in the Study of Biomedical Ethics. He completed his psychiatry residency training at Brown University, followed by T32 and Neuromodulation Fellowships at Brown. Dr. Philip’s research interest is to understand therapeutic mechanisms of non-invasive brain stimulation for psychiatric illnesses, and to use this knowledge to improve the treatments of today and design the interventions of tomorrow. Primary areas of study are PTSD, depression and suicide.

Linda Resnik, PT, PhD, FAPTA

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Linda Resnik, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Focus Area Lead
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Research Career Scientist
Director of CfNN Focus Area 3: Restoring Limb FunctionVA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor, Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice
Director, Center on Health Services Training and Research (CoHSTAR)
Principal Investigator, Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network (LeaRNN)Brown University
Dr. Resnik received her Ph.D. in physical therapy from Nova Southeastern University, her MS in physical therapy from Sargent College, Boston University, and her BS from Hampshire College. She is the 2017 recipient of the Paul B. Magnuson Award and is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Resnik’s research, informed by nearly 20 years of clinical experience as a physical therapist, links the fields of rehabilitation and health services research, focusing on three specialized areas: 1) design and evaluation of upper limb prosthetic devices; 2) development, evaluation and deployment of rehabilitation outcomes measures; 3) study of delivery and effectiveness of rehabilitation services.

Development and Innovation
Dave Rosler, MS

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Dave Rosler, MS
Director of TechnologyDevelopment and Innovation

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Director of Technology Development and Innovation
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Senior Research Associate, School of Engineering
Brown University
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Director of Operations, BrainGate Consortium
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dave Rosler joined the BrainGate Research Team at the VA Providence Healthcare System in 2009 and functions as the Director of Technology Development and Innovation. He has been a member of the CfNN Executive Committee and Leadership Committee for the Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology at PVAMC since its inception in June 2012. In addition to his appointment at the VA, he holds appointments at Brown University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dave is a biomedical engineer with extensive medical device research and development experience. He has a strong academic and industry based background, leading collaborative efforts to bring novel medical devices to market readiness. Before joining the BrainGate team, he was Director of Research and Development at Archus Orthopedics, a privately held medical device company in Redmond, Washington, where he was responsible for managing product development and applied research programs. He has been published in leading journals such as The Spine Journal, Clinical Biomechanics, and The Journal of Orthopaedic Research. Dave has been the recipient of awards for his work from ASTM and the International Society for the Advancement of Spinal Surgery. He received both his MS (1997) and BS with Honors (1996) from Tulane University.

Jerome Sanes, PhD

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Jerome Sanes, PhD

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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor of Neuroscience
Director of the Brown MRI Research FacilityBrown University
Dr. Sanes received his PhD from the University of Rochester, while investigating startle reflexes. He then worked at the National Institutes of Mental in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology, led by Edward Evarts, where he begin his studies in human motor control. After several more years at NIH, Dr. Sanes came to Brown University, where he’s been since, and has continued his independent research. Dr. Sanes has investigated brain control of visual-motor integration, focusing of the brain mediates voluntary movements and motor learning in healthy adults and patients with brain disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and cerebellar dysfunction.

John Simeral, PhD

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John Simeral, PhD
Focus Area Lead
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Research Biomedical Engineer
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor of Engineering (Research)
Brown University
Dr. Simeral is a leading authority on neural interface systems research and development with degrees in electrical engineering and neuroscience. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of innovative hardware and software systems for the real-time interpretation of the brain’s electrical signals in assistive and diagnostic applications. As Chief Systems Engineer for the BrainGate2 Neural Interface System project and clinical trial, his work aims to leverage state-of-the-art advances in computer science, machine learning, and neuroscience toward the neural control of computers and next-generation prosthetic arms and hands. Dr. Simeral’s research has been published in leading scientific journals such as Nature, the Journal of Neuroscience, Hippocampus, and the Journal of Neuroengineering, and has been presented at scientific conferences ranging from ‘The Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science’ in San Jose, CA to ‘The European Future Technologies Conference’ in Budapest, Hungary. Teaching contributions range from a Microelectronic System Design course at U.C. San Diego to a gross neuroanatomy series for first-year medical students at the Brown Medical School. Dr. Simeral’s former experience includes nearly a decade in industry developing high-performance VLSI microprocessors and massively parallel computer systems for NCR, Teradata, and AT&T. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and holds patents for a high-speed microelectronics circuit design. Dr. Simeral received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford in 1985, a Master of Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1989, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2003.

M. Tracie Shea, PhD

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M. Tracie Shea, PhD

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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Shea received her PhD in psychology from Catholic University in 1981. She was formerly at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she was chief of the Personality Disorders Program, and Associate Coordinator of the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. Currently, she is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, and a staff psychologist at the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Clinic and Director of PTSD Research at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Current Research Interests: Psychosocial treatments for PTSD and other trauma-related psychopathology.

Robert Swift, MD, PhD

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Robert Swift, MD, PhD
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Associate Chief of Staff (Mental Health)
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Associate Director, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Brown University
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Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
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Professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences
Brown University School of Public Health
Dr. Swift received his Ph.D. and M.D. (with honors) degrees at the University of Chicago. He completed a psychiatry residency at the Yale University Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Swift’s research interest focuses on medications development in substance use disorders and PTSD. He conducts human laboratory studies to better understand the mechanisms of actions of promising treatment agents for psychiatric disorders and also conducts clinical trials to establish treatment efficacy. He is also researching transdermal alcohol as a method to determine alcohol consumption remotely.

Ryan Van Patten, PhD, ABPP

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Ryan Van Patten, PhD, ABPP

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Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor
Alpert Medical School
Ryan Van Patten, PhD, ABPP, is an Assistant Professor at Brown University and a Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Providence VA Medical Center in Providence, RI. He completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University, internship at Brown University, and fellowships in neuropsychology at the University of California San Diego and Harvard Medical School.
Ryan is an active researcher, clinician, and educator. As an early career clinical scientist, he has over 50 peer reviewed publications, books, and book chapters. He is also on the editorial boards for four journals in neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics, and neuropsychology, and he serves as Science Officer for the Early Career Neuropsychologist Committee of the American Psychological Association (APA), Division 40. His research program focuses on functional (nonepileptic) seizures, digital neuropsychology, traumatic brain injury, and cognition and mental health in older adults.
Ryan’s contributions to education and training in neuropsychology include his role as co-founder and co-host of the Navigating Neuropsychology (NavNeuro) podcast, his service as a Delegate for the 2022 Minnesota Update Conference (MNC), and his role as a founding member of the New2Neuropsychology (N2N) program. His achievements in neuropsychology to date were recognized with the receipt of the 2023 Levitt Early Career Award in Neuropsychology from APA Division 40.

Carlos Vargas-Irwin, PhD

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Carlos Vargas-Irwin, PhD
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Investigator
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Neuroscience
Brown University

Amin Zand Vakili, MD, PhD

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Amin Zand Vakili, MD, PhD

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Attending Psychiatrist
VA Providence Healthcare System
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Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dr. Zand Vakili received his MD from Tehran University in 2006. Thereafter, he earned a PhD in Neuroscience from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2014. After finishing his PhD, he completed his psychiatry residency at Brown University in 2018 as a part of NIH funded R25 research training track. Dr. Zand Vakili’s main research interest is in using biological data (Electroencephalography, functional MRI, etc.) combined with analytical and data-science tools to understand the neurobiology of mental ailments better. He is also interested in predicting clinical outcomes to various treatments based on clinical data obtained in patients.