BrightFocus Foundation’s Benefit Concert for Cures

Dr. Ryan Darby’s research interests involve using neurologic methods to investigate the anatomy, psychology, and philosophy involved in disorders of the brain. In addition to being the lab’s Principal Investigator, he runs the Vanderbilt Frontotemporal Dementia Clinic.

Ryan Darby is an assistant professor of neurology and Director of the Frontotemporal dementia clinic at Vanderbilt University. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in psychology and neuroscience, and his medical degree from Vanderbilt University. He trained in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital as part of the Partners Neurology/Harvard Medical School program. He then received the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Research Fellowship in Clinical Neurosciences at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He simultaneously completed a clinical fellowship in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Boston. He currently sees patients in the Frontotemporal Dementia Clinic and Dementia-related Psychosis Clinic in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Uddin received his PhD degree in applied material sciences from Kochi University, Japan. He is currently a tenure track primary faculty (academic) in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is teaching biomedical engineering courses including “Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging” course for undergraduate students at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. His current research is focused on the development of molecular imaging technologies including optical imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and nano-scale engineering to identify molecular targets for early disease-detection and treatments in ophthalmology, vascular medicine and oncology. Dr. Uddin is currently using optical imaging techniques and nanotechnology-based approaches for diagnosis and drug delivery in preclinical models of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Dr. Lauren Wareham received her PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK in Biochemistry and Microbiology. She completed her first postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Ophthalmology, followed by a second postdoctoral fellowship in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. During this time, she was awarded the Shaffer award for “Innovative Glaucoma Research” from the Glaucoma Research Foundation. In 2019 Dr. Wareham became junior faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and started her independent research program. Her research focuses on the role of interactions between blood vessels and neurons in neurodegenerations of the visual system.