Michelle R. Madore, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Madore is multiracial, Filipina woman working as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (VAPAHCS) in the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Here she serves as the Director of the National Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Program whose mission is to: 1) increase the availability of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for treatment-resistant depression in Veterans and (2) gain a greater understanding of the treatment efficacy of TMS in our complex Veteran population. She is also the Co-Director of the Sierra Pacific MIRECC Advanced Fellowship at VAPAHCS. Dr. Madore is the site PI on two multi-site funded studies looking at neuroimaging biomarkers of treatment response to TMS in treatment-resistant depression. Dr. Madore is also a Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) at Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Cincinnati, where she received specialized training in neuropsychology. Dr. Madore completed her pre-doctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). She has completed postdoctoral training focused on clinical neuropsychology and neurorehabilitation research at VA Martinez, San Francisco VA Medical Center and VAPAHCS.
Dr. Madore is involved in several professional organizations and serves in several leadership positions. She is the Secretary for the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, a Co-Finance Officer for the Asian American Psychological Association, and Treasurer for the Asian Neuropsychological Association.
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Meet the Team
Nicole Walker, PsyD
Postdoctoral Fellow
2021-2023
Dr. Nikki Walker is a second-year neuropsychology research fellow at the VA Palo Alto Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) and the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. She graduated with her PsyD from the California School of Professional Psychology and completed her clinical internship at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno, NV. Her research interests include measuring early neurocognitive changes in older adults and rTMS biomarkers for the successful treatment of depression. Her clinical interests include working with veterans with neurodegenerative diseases and comorbid psychiatric conditions, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Robert Hickson
Practicum Student
BEING UPDATED
LaRoman Chauncey Green, BA
Program Specialist
LaRoman Chauncey Green is a Program Specialist tasked with the coordination of the National Clinical TMS Pilot Program, under the direction of Michelle Madore Ph.D. Chauncey supports 50+ clinical sites throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs. He develops program-specific tools and resources and assists with program evaluation of TMS utilization and efficacy. Chauncey graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and a concentration in Health Services Administration. Before joining the pilot program, he was a clinical research associate with Stanford University School of Medical, where he coordinated an education and skill-building, technology-based, caregiver intervention.
In his spare time, Chauncey is an avid musician, specializing in percussion instruments. He also owns and is currently restoring a classic 1967 Ford Mustang.
Sonia Rehman
Research Practicum Student
Sonia Syed Rehman is a doctoral candidate at Fielding Graduate University’s clinical psychology program and a neuropsychology extern at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Her prior academic background includes a master’s degree in psychological counseling. Her academic and professional experiences have led her to explore the differences in disease presentation and treatment in culturally and linguistically diverse populations, especially understanding the bidirectional relationship between psychiatric and neurological conditions in South Asian communities within the US. Her current research project includes examining the cross-national differences in the interaction between vascular burden and depressive symptoms on cognitive outcomes in older adults.
Bruno Gamboa
Research Practicum Student
Bruno Gamboa is a graduate student volunteer at the NEAT lab. He is in the Clinical Psychology Fieldwork M.A. at California State University, Northridge. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biopsychology, earning Honors and Distinction in Major for senior thesis work investigating retinal development at the Neuroscience Research Institute Reese lab. More specifically, he oversaw the conception, design, and analysis of the lab’s first mouse behavioral assay. Bruno intends to apply to clinical neuropsychology PhD programs this upcoming fall. He is still developing his research interests. In his free time, Bruno coaches youth volleyball and enjoys walking his dog.
Katie Hodges
Health Science Specialist
Katie is the Health Science Specialist working with the NEAT Lab and National Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Program at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (VAPAHCS) where she plays an integral role in organizing and managing research and clinical data from the other national sites in the program. She also assists with the coordination and facilitation of the EEG Biomarkers and fMRI biomarkers research studies. She received her B.S in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience from University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where she was a part of the volleyball team, and gained experience as a research assistant in social psychology and biopsychology research labs. She recently graduated from Western Illinois University with her M.S. in Experimental Psychology where she focused on behavioral pharmacology research. Her research interests include precision medicine for depression and anxiety, specifically the use of neuroimaging to identify neural correlates of clinical diagnosis and treatment response.
Stephanie Gee
Clinical Research Coordinator
Stephanie Gee is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the NEAT lab. She manages the national multi-site functional MRI (fMRI) study investigating fMRI biomarkers for predicting responses to TMS in veterans with pharmacoresistant depression. Stephanie received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Reed College in Portland, OR. There, for her thesis, she used light and confocal microscopy to investigate the effects of gamma radiation on zebrafish development. She also studied novel ALS therapeutics in C. elegans, performed stereotactic brain surgery in rats, and interned at NASA, where she worked with flies that returned from the International Space Station.
A Bay Area native, Stephanie also works as a freelance photographer and competes in equestrian vaulting (gymnastics on horseback). She enjoys spending time with her backyard chickens, houseplants, and searching for the best noodle dishes in the Bay Area.
Nathan R. Ramirez
Research Practicum Student
Nathan R. Ramirez is a graduate student volunteer in the NEAT Lab, under Dr. Michelle Madore. He is a fourth-year clinical psychology PsyD student at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP), currently on internship at the Burrel Behavioral Health/Cox Health Center. His research interests consist of the affective neuroscience of self-compassion, the relationship between bilingualism and cognition, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). He also has clinical interests in forensic psychological assessment, sports neuropsychological assessment, and cross-cultural assessment. Ultimately, he aspires to become board-certified in clinical neuropsychology. Outside of academia and clinical work, Nathan enjoys backpacking, brazilian jui-jitsu, and running.