Gregory Albers, MD
Stanford University
Dr. Gregory W. Albers is the Director of the Stanford Stroke Center, a position he has held since co-founding the center in 1992. Under his guidance, the Stroke Center has trained more than 40 clinical stroke specialists; many of these individuals are directing stroke centers at academic institutions throughout the world. Dr. Albers’ primary research focus is the diagnosis, management, and prevention of ischemic stroke. Dr. Albers was instrumental in the development a medical imaging platform called RAPID that allows physicians to identify stroke patients who have salvageable brain tissue. RAPID was used to select patients for enrollment in the EXTEND, EXTEND-IA, SWIFT PRIME, DEFUSE 3 and DAWN studies. These studies, which have all been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, led to landmark changes in both intravenous and endovascular stroke therapy- substantially more stroke patients can now be successfully treated.
Dr. Albers completed his medical training with a neurology residency and cerebrovascular disease fellowship at Stanford. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1989, and the following year won the Lysia Forno Award for Teaching Excellence.
Enrique Leira, MD, MS
University of Iowa
Enrique C. Leira MD MS is the Director of the Division of Cerebrovascular Disease and Head of the Comprehensive Stroke Center. He is an experienced board-certified vascular neurologist, and a trained epidemiologist. Dr. Leira is a tenured Professor in Neurology with secondary appointments in Neurosurgery and Epidemiology. He is also a member of the Operator Performance laboratory in the College of Engineering. His research focus is acute stroke management and prevention, including evidence-based strategies to improve and accelerate stroke treatment in rural areas. He conducted a pivotal clinical trial of delivering an intervention during the helicopter evacuation of patients to a comprehensive stroke center. This led into novel translational animal studies studying the effect of helicopter transport on acute stroke and reperfusion, which lead to the discovery of low frequency vibration as a synergistic intervention to thrombolytic therapy. Dr. Leira research has been funded by the NINDS-NIH. He is a principal investigator he University of Iowa StrokeNet Regional Coordinating Center Infrastructure (https://www.nihstrokenet.org/). He is also a principal investigator for the SPAN Network for advancing neuroprotective therapies through multicenter translational animal studies (https://spannetwork.org/). Dr. Leira has been very active in leadership positions with the American Stroke Association. American Academy of Neurology, and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is currently an associate editor for the journal Stroke.
Richard Harvey, MD
Brain Innovation Center
Richard L. Harvey, MD, is the David W. Trott Clinical Chair of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Brain Innovation Center, and the Wesley and Suzanne Dixon Stroke Chair of Stroke Rehabilitation Research. He is also a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr. Harvey’s research focuses on novel approaches to task-oriented therapy and the role of neuromodulation as an adjunct to movement recovery after stroke. He was the lead investigator of the NICHE (Navigated Inhibitory rTMS to Contralesional Hemisphere) and E-FIT (Electric Field Navigated 1 hZ rTMS for Post-stroke Motor Recovery) multicenter trials on navigated brain stimulation for upper-limb recovery after stroke.
He earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed residency training at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences. He did additional research training as a research fellow at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab) and Northwestern University (1992-93) and participated in the Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP).
Scott McNally, MD, PhD
University of Utah, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Scott McNally is a neuroradiologist and have dedicated my career to cerebrovascular disease and downstream consequences. I completed my MD/PhD at Emory University in 2006 on vascular endothelial oxidative stress, and I have since been involved in translational imaging research to better diagnose carotid disease. I am currently Neuroradiology Section Chief at the University of Utah Department of Radiology and Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (UCAIR). I have been a prior RSNA Research Scholar and AHA Scientist Development Grant recipient, and I am currently a Co-Investigator on a multicenter NIH R01 and a VA merit grant focused on carotid MRI.
Joeseph Kamerath, MD
Intermountain Health
Dr. Kamerath is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Physician and is currently fulfilling a President’s Fellowship for Intermountain Health, focusing all efforts on an enterprise project. After this year, he will return to his previous position where he served as the Senior Medical Director for Rehabilitation for Intermountain Health, responsible for rehabilitation care that occurs in a system of 33 hospitals, 60+ outpatient therapy clinics, several medical group practices, a rehabilitation research team, and 2,000 rehabilitation caregivers. He trained in PM&R at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC, served 17 years in the United States Army including time in Afghanistan, Korea and Abu Dhabi. He attained his MBA from Strayer University and has medical board certifications in PM&R and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Clinically, he practices inpatient rehabilitation at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah.
Elizabeth Sunderman, MD, PhD
Intermountain Health
Dr. Sunderman attended medical school at the University of Washington in Seattle and graduated with an MD and PhD in 2000. She moved to Salt Lake City in 2000 where she was a neurology resident and then fellow at the University of Utah. Dr. Sunderman joined Intermountain Health in 2005 and have worked for Intermountain Health ever since, embracing the mission to help people live the healthiest lives possible. Since January 1, 2025, I have been working full-time as a vascular neurologist in the Neurosciences Clinic at Intermountain Medical Center, bringing 20 years of experience as a neuro-hospitalist to my clinical practice.
Brian Moench, MD
Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment
Brian Moench, is a former adjunct faculty member, U. of Utah Honors College, teaching public health and the environment. Currently he is president and founder, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, (UPHE). Since 2007 UPHE has become one of the largest civic organizations of medical professionals in the Western US. Dr. Moench was nominated by Presidnet Obama as a finalist for the Award, Champions of Change, for my work on public health and the climate crisis, 2013. Dr. Moench received the University of Utah School of Medicine Alumni Association Distinguished Humanitarian Award, 2025. He is the author of two non-fiction books, Death by Corporation: Killing Humankind in the Age of Monster Corporations, and The Great Brain Robbery/Why women have become smarter than men/Science with an attitude. Both books deal with environmental the public health consequences of environmental degradation, air pollution in particular.
Brenda Beaton, BA, JD, MPA
Brenda J. Beaton is an attorney with more than 30 years of experience in criminal law and public service. She earned her JD/Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah College of Law after completing a BA in political science. Brenda spent 14 years as a prosecutor with the Weber County Attorney’s Office and the Utah Attorney General’s Office, including work with the Drug Enforcement Administration, before transitioning to private practice in Ogden focusing on criminal defense and family law. She has taught criminal justice ethics at Weber State University and instructed law enforcement on numerous topics. Following an ischemic stroke in 2017, Brenda became a dedicated stroke-recovery advocate and RAMMP volunteer, and now serves in a leadership role among stroke survivors. Recently retired, she continues to complete select cases from home.
Alexandra Terrill, PhD
University of Utah
Dr. Terrill is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive expertise in stroke, quality of life, and rehabilitation. With over a decade of experience in intervention development to improve quality of life for stroke patients and their families, she has been continuously funded from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Terrill's research interests were inspired by the inherent resiliency of patients when they face a life changing injury or illness and the recognition that recovery was influenced by personal, interpersonal, as well as social-environmental factors. For the majority of her career, she has focused her research on understanding what helps stroke patients adapt to and cope with disabling conditions and translating this into interventions that support patients and their care partners.
Ethan Rosenfeld, MD
Summit Physician Specialists
Ethan Rosenfeld, MD is a board certified vascular surgeon with Summit Physician Specialists based in Murray, UT. He completed medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, residency in general surgery at The George Washington University, and fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Utah. He has authored peer-reviewed articles related to clinical surgical outcomes in journals including the Journal of Vascular Surgery, Annals of Vascular Surgery, European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Karol Budohoski, MD, PhD
University of Utah
Karol Budohoski is a cerebrovascular, endovascular and skull base neurosurgeon who treats vascular and skull base pathologies through a combination of open microsurgical techniques, as well as minimally invasive approaches including endovascular techniques and endoscopic techniques. Dr Budohoski’s academic interests include the pathophysiology of subarachnoid hemorrhage. He heads the Budohoski Lab which focuses on identifying the molecular pathways of development of cerebral aneurysms and the pathophysiology of cerebral vasospasm and developing specialized brain monitoring tools to help treat patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Luke McCausland, DPT, MBA, NCS
Intermountain Health
Luke graduated from the University of Utah's Doctor of Physical Therapy program in 2010. I love working with people with vestibular and neurologic problems. I am passionate about helping people progress and improve so they can do the things they love to do. I currently work as a clinic manager for Intermountain Health. Outside the clinic I enjoy running, mountain biking, obstacle course racing and wrestling my 4 children.
Matthew Grantz, MD
St. Marks Hospital
Matthew Grantz, M.D. earned his biochemistry and psychology degree from Fort Lewis College in Colorado. He then taught high school science in Sub-Saharan Africa with the Peace Corps.
Recognizing his fascination with the brain and medicine, he earned his medical degree at the University Colorado and moved to Utah to complete neurologic training at the University of Utah. He is board-certified in general neurology and vascular neurology. He has published or given lectures on various aspects of neurology including pre-hospital emergent neurologic care, stroke, and dementia.
After working in the intermountain region for 7 years, Dr. Grantz joined St. Mark’s Hospital as the stroke director and helped the facility become the third Comprehensive Stroke Center in the state of Utah and stroke care hub for the mountainstar hospital network of the region. His philosophy for patient care involves educating patients and understanding how each patient views their illness. His interests include inpatient neurology, critical care, and stroke care.
Brandon Taylor, MBA, MS
Intermountain Health
Brandon Taylor is the therapy manager for the Inpatient Rehab team at St. George Regional Hospital in St. George, Utah. He is a Speech Therapist by training and worked on the same unit for 5 years before transitioning to the manager role in 2018. He loves working in the rehab setting and seeing the progress patients make, and their lives change as they work through the rehab process. When he is not working, he enjoys drawing/painting, fishing, spending time outdoors, and most of all spending time with his wife and 3 children.
Katy Mayer, TRS, CTRS
University of Utah
Katy Mayer is a recreational therapist at the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, specializing in inpatient rehabilitation for individuals recovering from stroke and other neurological conditions. She is a member of the Center of Excellence for Quality of Life After Stroke, where her clinical practice contributes to ongoing research focused on meaningful, evidence-based interventions. Her professional interests center on the therapeutic use of art as a modality to support cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial recovery following stroke, with an emphasis on engagement, identity, and quality of life in acute rehabilitation settings.
Matthew Brasher, BFA
University of Utah
Matthew Brasher is a community-based teaching artist born and raised in Tooele, Utah and currently residing in Salt Lake City. His passion for building meaningful connections through artmaking led him to pursue a BFA in Art Teaching from the University of Utah. Matthew has designed and facilitated numerous art lessons, workshops, and grant-funded programs for community partnerships focusing on Creative Aging and Arts and Health integration. He is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital.
Mukesh Kumar, PhD
University of Utah
Dr. Mukesh Kumar, PhD, is a researcher with the Center for Quality of Life After Stroke in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Utah. His research program is centered on improving long-term quality of life for persons with stroke and their caregivers, with particular emphasis on participation, psychological and social well-being, and sustained community reintegration. His work includes developing patient- and caregiver-centered interventions designed to extend rehabilitation gains into the home and community, strengthen continuity of care, ease care transitions, and address post-discharge system gaps that influence recovery trajectories and caregiver burden. He applies health services–focused quantitative, prospective mixed-methods, and digital health approaches in his research.
Nate Hess, BSN, RN
Intermountain Health
Nate Hess, BSN, RN is a registered nurse with five years of clinical experience, currently specializing in interventional radiology with a focus in neuro interventional radiology. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southern Utah University and grew up in Salt Lake City. Nate is passionate about advancing stroke care through innovation, collaboration, and excellence in neurointerventional practice. He is married and the proud father of one child.
Amanda Lenberg, OTR
Intermountain Health
Amanda Lenberg has worked in the OT field for 12 years in the IRF and Acute care settings throughout Texas, Utah, California, Hawaii and Maine. She enjoys hiking, pickleball and the beach.
Mckenna Coletti, MD
University of Utah
Mckenna Coletti attended the University of Utah Medical School and then completed Pediatric Neurology Residency at The University of Utah/Primary Children's Hospital. This year she is doing a fellowship in Pediatric Vascular Neurology with plans to stay on at Primary Children's as Neuro-critical care attending. When not taking care of children with strokes in the hospital, you can find her skiing, playing tennis or watching soccer games.