Dr. Kristen Willeumier

Kristen Willeumier, PhD, is a renowned neuroscientist with extensive research expertise in brain function, injury, and disorders. Dr. Willeumier holds a BA degree in psychology from Boston College, and MS degrees in physiological science and neurobiology, and a Ph.D. degree in neurobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She conducted her graduate work in the laboratory of neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the laboratory of neurogenetics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she continued her work in the field of neurodegenerative disease, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease. In recognition of her work at UCLA and Cedars- Sinai, she was the recipient of the prestigious NIH fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health and has presented her work at national and international scientific meetings including the Society for Neuroscience and the Gordon Research Conference in Hong Kong, China.


More recently, Dr. Willeumier served as the Director of Neuroimaging and Clinical Research for the Amen Clinics, where she led the efforts to utilize imaging technologies to better understand the neurobiological issues underlying psychiatric disorders. In this capacity she oversaw a number of pioneering studies, principal among them a clinical research trial investigating the long-term effects of repetitive subconcussive impacts in National Football League (NFL) players. Subsequent work focused on therapeutic approaches to rehabilitate brain function in athletes with mild traumatic brain injury and the application of machine learning algorithms to neuroimaging data to improve the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. Dr. Willeumier is widely published and has authored or co-authored over 55 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Nature Translational Psychiatry, and the Journal of Neuroscience. Areas of published research include traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, autism, biomarkers of suicide, obesity, gender differences in brain function, clinical outcomes, and brain rehabilitation.

Dr. Willeumier currently holds a position on the Scientific Advisory Board of Tate Technology, LLC, a Los Angeles-based sports safety and technology licensing company, and serves as a Scientific Advisor to the Addiction Medicine Institute in Newport Beach, CA, and the Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Wellness Clinic Center for Neuroscience in Bangkok, Thailand. She is the founder of Willeumier Enterprises, LLC, a boutique consulting firm that provides an array of services including writing grants and manuscripts, designing research studies, and creating neuroscience-based brain health curricula.

Dr. Willeumier is a leading advocate for brain health and wellness and a frequent contributor to top media outlets. She can be heard on Radio MD with Your Brain Health with Dr. Kristen Willeumier and the Salem Radio Network with Here's To Your Health. She is a correspondent for KMIR-TV NBC Palm Springs and has appeared on CNN, KING5-TV CBS Seattle, KDVR-TV FOX Denver, WATN-TV ABC Memphis, WSFA-TV NBC Montgomery, iHeart Radio, Sports X Radio, Coast-to-Coast radio, and magazines including Marie Claire. She is the author of the upcoming book Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health, Performance & Power, which will be published with the William Morrow imprint at HarperCollins in the winter of 2020.