Get to Know Us
Samuel Lockhart, PhD
Lockhart Lab Principal Investigator/Associate Professor, Internal Medicine-Geriatrics/ Wake Forest ADRC Imaging Biomarker Core Co-Leader/ U.S. POINTER Imaging Study Coordinating Center PI
Research Interests: Dr. Lockhart conducts cutting-edge research in neuroimaging within the framework of our ADRC, OAIC, and CHAAP, with a focus on metabolic, vascular, and neuropathological processes in the aging/AD continuum. His research spans translational models of disease. His work has furthered understating of how tau and beta-amyloid interact in Alzheimer’s disease and how cardiometabolic risk factors affect brain health. His work has been published in major journals and represents important advances towards identifying potential paths to slowing cognitive decline. His understanding of the interplay of complex imaging biomarkers in brain and cognitive research has resulted in successful extramural grants (R01s, R21s, R24s), demonstrating the originality and impact of his research.
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? Alzheimer’s Disease is the moonshot of our time. We are looking at problems that we have never faced, and coming up with ways to understand and tackle these issues interests me. You will never become bored in this field as there is constant, daily intellectual stimulation
Top 3 phone apps: Remind, Facebook, GuitarTuna
Places you’d love to visit: Argentina, Panama, Cuba, South Korea
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 Tugce Duran, MS
PhD Graduate Student (4th year)
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Research interests: Normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment cognitive migration and subsequent alters to brain white matter tracts
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? I believe that my grandparents had undiagnosed dementia. I was curious about the disease and pursued biology in my undergraduate studies. Becoming a research assistant also further triggered my interest in AD and neuroscience.
Top 3 phone apps: Whatsapp, Instagram, Spotify
Places you’d love to visit: Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Japan, New Zealand
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 Sudarshan “Sud” Krishnamurthy
MD/PhD Graduate Student (2nd year)
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Research interests: Social determinants of health, cardiometabolic indices, area depravation
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? I was initially interested in aging via the basic sciences. My grandfather also had dementia, so it solidified my interest in the field.
Top 3 phone apps: Twitter, Libby, Podcasts
Places you’d love to visit: Peru, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Thailand
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 Marc Rudolph, PhD
Postdoctoral T32 Fellow
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Research interests: Statistics & Machine-learning for Biomarker Classification & Prediction
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? My early life personal experiences as well as learning about interesting neurological disorder case studies from people like Oliver Sacks and V.S. Ramachandran.
Top 3 phone apps: Spotify, FitBit, AllTrails
Places you’d love to visit: Bavaria (Germany), Iceland (Northern Lights), Scandinavia, Alps Mountains
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 Stephanie Okonmah-Obazee, MS
Imaging Biomarker Core Manager/Lockhart Lab Manager
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Research interests: Cerebral perfusion deficits, cognition, and neurodegeneration
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? When my grandmother was diagnosed with AD in ninth grade, I became interested in how a disease could compromise a person’s physical and mental function. Overtime, I became more interested in understanding the brain in greater detail as well as the mechanisms that hinder or promote brain health. Ultimately, I am fascinated with how the application of neuroscience can improve the physical and mental health of others.
Top 3 phone apps: Camera, Spotify, Notes App
Places you’d love to visit: Tanzania, South of France, Croatia, Cuba
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 Melissa Rundle, PhD
Research Associate
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Research interests: Subpopulation within AD and neural spatial patterns
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? Phineas Gage got me interested in the field of neuroscience. The brain allows you to be who you are, and it is fascinating how it can change your disposition so radically when it is injured.
Top 3 phone apps: Waffle, Google Maps, AllTrails
Places you’d love to visit: Vietnam; Greece, Cape Town, South Africa, New Zealand
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 Kathryn “Kattie” Alphin, MS
Imaging Biomarker Core Assistant Project Manager
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Research interests: How diet, exercise, and quality of life improves wellness; Women’s health
What made you interested in the neuroscience/Alzheimer’s Disease field? I’m interested in healthy aging and AD is an important condition that affects many older adults, and it is something that I would like to help improve.
Top 3 phone apps: Snapchat, Woodoku, Spotify
Places you’d love to visit: Croatia, Ireland, Alaska, Brazil
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