OUR TEAM
Our laboratory consists of a diverse team with a wide range of clinical and research abilities, including neurologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and neuropsychologists, among others. Each team member brings a unique perspective that enhances the creation of high-quality scientific work. The interdisciplinary nature of our team enables us to place our research findings in a broader context and effectively communicate them to a diverse audience.
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Andrew Budson, M.D.
Co-Director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience
Andrew E. Budson, M.D. is Chief of Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology, Associate Chief of Staff for Education, and Director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Associate Director and Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE) Core Leader at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Professor of Neurology at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, and Lecturer in Neurology at Harvard Medical School. His training included graduating cum laude from Harvard Medical School, being chief resident of the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Residency Program, pursuing a fellowship in dementia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and studying memory as a post-doctoral fellow in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience at Harvard University. Dr. Budson has had government research funding since 1998, receiving a National Research Service Award and a Career Development Award in addition to a Research Project (R01) grant. He has given over 800 local, national, and international grand rounds and other academic talks. He has published over 150 papers, reviews, and book chapters and is a reviewer for more than 50 journals. He has co-authored or edited eight books, including Memory Loss, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Dementia: A Practical Guide for Clinicians (translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese), Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory (translated into Korean and Simplified Chinese), Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia: A Guide for Families, and Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory. He was awarded the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology in 2008 and the Research Award in Geriatric Neurology in 2009, both from the American Academy of Neurology. His current research uses the techniques of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to understand memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In his memory disorders clinic at the VA Boston Healthcare System, he treats patients while teaching fellows, residents, and medical students.
Dr. Katherine Turk, M.D.
Co-Director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience
Dr. Turk is a board-certified Neurologist specializing in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. She earned her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and then completed her Internship and Neurology residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. She completed her fellowship training in Behavioral Neurology at Boston University/VA Boston. She sees patients at the Boston VA Memory Disorders clinic and is also a principal investigator and co-director of the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience lab (CTCN) at VA Boston. She serves as the co-leader of the Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement core of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She has received research funding from the Alzheimer’s Association, the Doris Duke Foundation, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Turk’s primary research interests include studying the impact of mindfulness on memory, cognition and self-representation among older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease. She is also broadly interested in behavioral interventions for autobiographical memory loss in veterans with Alzheimer’s disease and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Post-Doctoral Researchers:
Kathy Xie, Ph.D.
Dr. Kathy Xie is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Xie earned her Ph.D in Psychology with a concentration in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Xie’s doctoral work explored the influence of working memory processing on subsequent associative episodic memory in healthy younger and older adults and the impact of working memory training in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment. At the CTCN, Dr. Xie will investigate the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying age-related changes in memory and develop interventions to improve memory and cognitive functioning in older adults and veterans with and without cognitive impairment.
Graduate Students:
Brenna Hagan, B.S.
Ph.D. Candidate
Brenna Hagan earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience from Emmanuel College and is currently a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Behavioral Neuroscience at Boston University. Her research interests center on understanding the cognitive and neural underpinnings of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She employs techniques such as EEG, ERP, and TMS-EEG to investigate episodic memory, including autobiographical memory, consciousness, and pathophysiological mechanisms like cortical excitability, brain complexity, and connectivity, and to develop and explore the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions.
Contact: haganb@bu.edu
Lab Manager:
Emily Waskow, B.A.
Emily graduated summa cum laude from Goucher College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Public Health. During her undergraduate studies, she worked with the Child Development Lab in original research on children’s sense of agency and locus of control and judgments in ambiguous moral situations. She also worked with the Memory Lab, focusing on math-specific growth mindset and math anxiety. As a CNA, she has experience working in multiple assisted living and memory care facilities. She is particularly interested in Alzheimer’s disease and the impact of social isolation on health-related outcomes and diagnosis, in addition to correlations with structural MRI and Event-Related Potentials. In the CTCN Lab, she is mainly working on Dr. Budson’s False Memories in Alzheimer’s Disease and Understanding False Recognition in Alzheimer’s Disease projects. Emily looks forward to continuing her education in a Ph.D. program.
email: erwaskow@bu.edu
Research Assistants:
Heera Kamaraj, B.S.
Ritu Dutta, B.S.
Ritu Dutta graduated with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024, earning a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a second major in Medical Anthropology and a minor in Spanish for the Medical Professions. Her undergraduate research explored the intersection of neuroscience and society, with a focus on cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. Currently, Ritu is a Research Program Coordinator at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, where, among other roles, she works with the HOPE longitudinal clinical cohort study, investigating the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s in older adults. She leads veteran recruitment efforts at the CTCN Lab at the VA Medical Center for the HOPE Study. This fall, Ritu will begin her medical training, with aspirations to advance neurological and neurosurgical care for underserved populations worldwide.
Anthony Goñez, B.A.
Clinical Team:
Mark Knobel, Ph.D, M.D.
Antreas Charidimou, M.D., MSc, Ph.D., FESO
Andreas Charidimou is an Asst. Prof of in neurology at Boston University Medical Center (MA, USA). He studied medicine at the University of Athens (Athens, Greece), did his PhD on applied clinical neuroimaging of cerebral small vessel disease and intracerebral haemorrhage at the University College London, Queen Square, Institute of Neurology (London, UK), and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program (Boston, USA). His research focuses on cerebral amyloid angiopathy, aiming to improve diagnosis, define risk of hemorrhage and dementia, and integrate novel biomarkers into clinical practice.
Brandon Frank, Ph.D.
Brandon Frank, PhD, received his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University in 2020. He completed pre-doctoral residency in neuropsychology at University of Florida Health Shands Hospital and neuropsychology fellowship training at VA Bedford Healthcare System. He became involved in research with the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) during his post-doctoral training and received ADRC pilot grant funding to quantify a novel plasma biomarker in the ADRC clinical cohort. In September 2022, he joined the VA Boston Healthcare System and National Expert Consultation & Specialized Services Memory Disorders Program where he evaluates and treats Veterans with memory loss from around the country. He is principal investigator on a VA Career Development Award examining a screening tool for Alzheimer’s disease, which applies machine learning tools to a low-technology digital clock drawing test (JIT pending). He is also co-investigator on a VA MERIT award examining interventions designed to influence brain aging and biomarkers of brain health. His research leverages advanced statistical techniques and new technologies to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. He has published in peer reviewed neurology and neuropsychology journals and presented on a wide range of topics in neuropsychology. Dr. Frank serves as editor and reviewer for multiple journals including Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Psychological Assessment, and Neuropsychologia. In addition to his clinical and research activities, Dr. Frank mentors and teaches BU doctoral students, residents, and fellows.
Lola Baird, LICSW
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Lola Baird, LICSW, received her BA in English Literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Following an undergraduate internship with the Washtenaw County Office of the Public Defender, Lola developed a passion for advocating for underserved populations. Lola pursued a graduate degree in Social Work at Boston College and, in 2011, received her MSW with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health. Lola has been a full-time Social Worker with the VA Boston Healthcare System since February 2012 and has worked in many areas of the hospital system. Starting her career in the Community Residential Care program, Lola provided clinical case management services to Veterans with chronic mental illnesses who live in VA-contracted community group homes. Lola then transitioned to the General Mental Health clinic, where she assisted with developing the practices and guidelines for Social Work Case Management within outpatient mental health clinics, provided regular and ad hoc mental health coverage in the Brockton Urgent Care clinic, and served for 2-years as the Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator for VA Boston. Lola currently serves as the Senior Social Worker and Program Coordinator for the Polytrauma/Traumatic Brain Injury clinic, where her primary duties include planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating the Polytrauma/TBI program at VA Boston, along with coordinating service delivery for Veterans seen in the clinic.
Diana Anderson, M.D., M.Arch, ACH
Advanced Fellow, Geriatric Neurology
Website: www.dochitect.com
Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch, ACHA, is a healthcare architect, as well as a board-certified internist and geriatrician. As a “dochitect”, Dr. Anderson combines educational and professional experience in both medicine and architecture. She has worked on hospital design projects globally and is widely published in both architectural and medical journals, books, and the popular press. She is a frequent speaker about the impacts of architectural design on health outcomes. As a past Fellow at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, she explores space design and ethics. Dr. Anderson is now pursuing a research fellowship in geriatric neurology at the VA Boston Healthcare System and exploring the impact of the built environment on health outcomes for older adults living with dementia.
Saidy A. Salem Hernandez, M.D.
Roberto Cardona, M.D.
Benjamin Morrison, M.D.
2025 William James Neuropsychology Practicum Students:
- Sakhi Chitalia
- Samuel Monks
- Paul Sablone
- Elena Lapadula
- Kylie Nop
- Kathryn Nicoll
2025 Medical Student Interns:
- Christine Lo Verde
- Guneet Bindra
- Minzae Kim
2025 Post-Masters Interns:
- Tanya Sharma
- Tayan (Zoe) Zhang
2025 Undergraduate Interns:
- Iris Hall
- Yeshi Dolma
- Yasemin Yilmaz
- Samantha Seto
- Sarah Harer
