Principal Investigators //


Sephira Ryman, PhD, MS

Associate Professor

Sephira Ryman, PhD, MS

Dr. Sephira Ryman is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Neuropsychologist. She studied psychology and neuroscience at Wellesley College. She completed her neuropsychology training at the University of New Mexico (PhD), University of California, Los Angeles (Internship), and Stanford Medical Center (Fellowship).  Her research lab is interested in understanding microbiome and cerebrovascular mechanisms in Lewy body diseases, which include Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies. The lab is currently supported by NIH R03 and R01 mechanisms to pursue these aims, though we collaborate on numerous projects examining biomarkers and neuropsychiatric functioning across Traumatic Brain Injury, Depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Vascular Cognitive Impairment. Dr. Ryman currently serves as the Clinical Core Co-Lead for the exploratory New Mexico Exploratory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Junior Director of the Administrative Core for the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) multimodal imaging of neuropsychiatric disorders. She is originally from New Mexico and thrilled to partner with communities to learn more about how our research can improve the lives of individuals impacted by neurological and psychiatric conditions. 

For more information about specific studies, to volunteer for a study, or meet Dr. Ryman's research team, visit links on the left hand side of the page or email agingstudy@mrn.org. You may also contact us at: (505)-803-5499. Also read more about our work here: https://sites.google.com/view/the-gracelab/home 

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Cognitive and Psychiatric Functioning in Aging

MRI biomarkers have been studied in individual neurodegenerative diseases, but there have been minimal amounts of research examining how MRI biomarkers relate to cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction accross neurodegenerative conditions. This study will examine, longitudinally and observationally, individuals diagnosed with neurodegenerative conditions and how those measures relate to cognitive and psychiatric functioning and whether those measures can predict functional outcomes over time. This research ultimately aims to facilitate earlier detection and improve treatments for neurodegenerative conditions. A significant gain in understanding the utility of MRI biomarkers to identify the presence and progression in neuropathological processes across neurodegenerative conditions is expected over the course of this study. 

For more information feel free to email agingstudy@mrn.org or contact us at: (505)-803-5499