Dr. Pradumna Singh is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) as a clinical Epileptologist. He is also the Chief of Neurology Service and Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine and Chief Consultant in Neurology to the Nashville Metropolitan General Hospital in Nashville.

Prior to his 2002 move to Nashville, Dr. Singh became assistant professor and attending neurologist at SUNY Downstate and Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York. As an Epileptologist, he was the director of the EGG labs, and was instrumental in setting up the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at SUNY Downstate as its associate director. 

Dr. Singh earned his undergraduate degree from Sawai Man Signh Medical College in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. In 1986 he received Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MD equivalent). Dr. Singh did his post-graduate neurology training in teaching hospitals at Bombay Hospital and Institute of Medical Sciences in Bombay, India, The National Hospital and Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square in Long, UK, The Walton Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Liverpool, UK, SUNY Brooklyn in New York, and the Montefiore Medical Center – The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Singh also did training in District, General and Community hospitals including: Sriganganagar District General Hospital in Rajasthan, India, Halifax Roay Infirmary and Halifax General Hospital in Halifax, UK, Colchester General Hospital in Colchester, UK, Brooklyn Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, Maimaonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and Staten Island University Hospital in New York.

Kristen Sherman is a Certified Physician Assistant specializing in sleep medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a role she has held since 2015. She works in the outpatient clinic, assisting in both the Neurology Sleep Clinic and the Pulmonary Sleep Clinic. 

Kristen is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Tennessee Academy of Physician Assistants. In 2019 she was awarded the VUMC Excellence in Patient Experience Award. 

Prior to her appointment at VUMC, Kristen gained experience working as a Physician Assistant in both Neurology and Internal Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Science from Lipscomb University and her Master of Science from Trevecca University. 

Dr. Althea Shelton is currently Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) specializing in sleep medicine. She is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric sleep and epilepsy disorders and the teaching of neurology residents and fellows. She is board certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (2008) and board certified in Sleep Medicine (2011).

Dr. Shelton’s honors include being the past recipient of a William Penry Epilepsy Mini-fellowship (2007) and the American Academy of Neurology Residents Scholarship (2008), the American Neurological Association Junior Faculty Travel Award (2012), the Five Star Customer Service Award for Excellence in Quality of Physician Care (2014) and the Excellence in Patient Care Experience Reward (2019)

Dr. Shelton earned a BS degree in Psychobiology with an emphasis in Neuroscience graduating summa cum laude at Florida Atlantic University in 1999. She earned her Medical Doctorate in 2004 at Morehouse School of Medicine. The next year she did an internal medicine internship at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by Neurology residency (2004-2008). Dr. Shelton completed a Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship with an emphasis in epilepsy in 2009 and then continued further training in sleep medicine with an emphasis in pediatrics at Vanderbilt. She was named Clinical Instructor of Neurology at Vanderbilt in 2009. She also served as Chief Fellow in 2009. She earned a Master’s of Public Health from Vanderbilt University in 2016. 

Laurel is an ANCC Board Certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner who practices at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Sleep Clinics in Franklin and Nashville. She was appointed to a faculty position at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine in 2016. She has a special interest in helping patients optimize their sleep and improve insomnia using behavioral and lifestyle interventions. She currently serves as the advanced practice team leader in outpatient neurology at VUMC. She lives in Franklin with her husband, John, and their two children Henry and Emma. She enjoys cooking, supporting her children in their athletic endeavors and staying active in her church.

She earned her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in 2008. She also earned her Masters of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in 2013 and 2019 respectively and was invited to join the Signa Theta Tau Honor Society. She has been awarded the Excellence in Patient Experience Award at VUMC from 2021-2023 and serves as a clinical preceptor at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

Andrew Schaale is a physician’s assistant specializing in stroke care in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He works alongside residents, fellows, and attendings providing patient care as part of the stroke team. 

Prior to his current position at Vanderbilt, which he began in 2017, he worked in outpatient Neurology as well as inpatient rehabilitation. He graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2013 with his Physician’s Assistant degree. 

Dr. Shawniqua Williams Roberson is an epileptologist and clinical neurophysiologist with dual appointments in the Departments of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Her focus of work lies at the intersection of clinical neurophysiology, cognitive neuroscience, engineering and critical care. With advanced training in electrical engineering and computer science, Dr. Williams Roberson utilizes biophysical signal processing for the study and treatment of neurologic disease. Her clinical interests concentrate on the evaluation and management of refractory epilepsy, critical illness encephalopathy and related neurological disorders, with an emphasis on their cognitive and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. 

Dr. Williams Roberson has served on a number of boards and committees throughout her career, currently serving on the American Academy of Neurology Guidelines and Meeting Management subcommittees, the editorial board of Neurology Today, the Professional Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Middle and Eastern Tennessee, the VUMC Early Career Physician Council, and the VUMC Department of Neurology Diversity Committee. She is a regularly invited presenter and lecturer in both academic and professional settings, and has served as a reviewer for such peer-reviewed publications as Chest, JAMA and Neurology, among several others. She is board certified in both Neurology and Epilepsy. 

Dr. Williams Roberson completed her Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She later earned her MD with Honors in Research at Weill Cornell Medical College, during which she had the privilege of participating in the Consortium for the Advanced Study of Brain Injury under the guidance of Dr. Nicholas Schiff. Her primary research initiative involved the study of neurophysiologic signals underlying chronic disorders of consciousness. This work was funded through the Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (PI: Dr. Barry Coller). She subsequently pursued residency training at Johns Hopkins, where she worked with Dr. Barry Gordon investigating EEG signal properties of acute coma. She went on to complete a clinical neurophysiology fellowship with specialization in epilepsy at University of Pennsylvania, where, under the guidance of Dr. Brian Litt, she used high gamma activity measurements in intracranial electroencephalography to probe the neuronal activation patterns associated with verbal fluency, a common neurocognitive assessment task. Dr. Williams Roberson then pursued a postdoctoral translational research fellowship at the Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics at University of Pennsylvania, during which she undertook a number of projects, including a collaboration with other clinicians and engineering graduate students to develop a platform for automated, real-time ICU physiologic data monitoring, signal processing and caretaker notification. 

Prior to her appointment at Vanderbilt, Dr. Williams Roberson worked as a Clinical Instructor at Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Derek Riebau is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Medical Director of the Stroke Program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

Dr. Riebau graduated with a BS from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in 1997 and earned his MD from the University of Wisconsin Medical School at Madison in 2001. He completed his internship with the department of Medicine at Evanston Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. At Vanderbilt University, he completed his residency with the department of Neurology in 2005 and served as the Chief Resident of Neurology from 2004-2005. Subsequently, he completed a Vascular Neurology fellowship in 2007 and is currently on faculty in the Stroke division.

In addition to his clinical activities, Dr. Riebau has been heavily involved in education where his roles have included co-director of the Medical Neuroscience Course and director of the Neurology Clerkship in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and co-director of the Neuroscience for Mental Health Practitioners Course in the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.  He has received numerous awards and honors for his teaching, including twice recipient of the Shovel Award given by the graduating medical school class to the faculty member they identify as having the most positive and meaningful influence on their education. 

Nicole Poirier is an ANCC Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, specializing in Sleep Medicine. She was awarded faculty appointment to the VUMC School of Medicine’s Neurology department in January 2018 as an Advanced Practice Provider. She has been an active member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine since 2019. She has taken special interest in assisting pediatric and adult patients optimize their treatment of sleep apnea through the CPAP Success Clinic. Nicole lives in South Williamson County with her husband, Jonathan, and their two children James and Ada Rose. She enjoys working out, cooking, gardening and being active in the outdoors with her family.

She began her career in healthcare as an RN in 2008 after earning her undergraduate degree in nursing at Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. In May 2011 she was the recipient of the Award for Professional Nursing Clinical Excellence presented by Regional Cooperative for Professional Nurses. With eight years of experience as a registered nurse and a background in emergency nursing, Nicole earned her Master’s of Science in Nursing from Lincoln Memorial University Caylor School of Nursing in Knoxville, TN in 2016. She was invited to serve as a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society in 2015-2016.

Dr. Fenna Phibbs is currently Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) specializing in movement disorders and deep brain stimulation (DBS). She focuses on DBS and its applications in various movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, tremor, and dystonia.

Dr. Phibbs began her career at Vanderbilt in 2003 as a Neurology resident, and in 2007 she completed a fellowship in movement disorders with a focus on DBS. She joined the Neurology faculty as Assistant Professor, and completed her MPH thereafter. She graduated with a BS in biology from the Colorado State University in 1996. In 2002, Dr. Phibbs received her MD from the University of Colorado, where she also completed an internship year.