Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Aaron McMurtray is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with subspecialty training in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry.  Dr. McMurtray has certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and is a fellow in both the American Neurological Association and the American Academy of Neurology.  Dr. McMurtray received his undergraduate degree from Claremont McKenna College, his Doctor of Medicine from Vanderbilt University Medical School, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Dr. McMurtray completed neurology residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry at the University of California at Los Angeles and the West LA Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Manus J. Donahue, MBA, PhD is a Professor of Neurology within the Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology and serves as Assistant Vice Chair for Research. Dr. Donahue trained at Duke University (BS: Physics; BA: Philosophy), The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (PhD: Biophysics), and the University of Oxford (post-doc: Neurology). He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2009 and in 2010 moved to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he is currently a Professor of Neurology. His work is focused on using new imaging and computational approaches to characterize tissue function in health and disease and he has led NIH-funded trials whereby these approaches have been applied in patients with atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease, moyamoya disease and syndrome, sickle cell disease, neurodegeneration (Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease), and peripheral lymphatic disorders to evaluate emerging therapies. He is Chair of the Vanderbilt Human Subjects Protections Committee (HS2), editorial board member for the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, member of the FDA-initiated Brain panel to determine endpoints in clinical trials of sickle cell disease, and chief executive officer of Biosight, LLC which operates as a clinical research organization.

Dr. Ryan Merrell joined the Vanderbilt faculty as division director for Neuro-Oncology in 2021. He earned  is BS in chemistry from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He completed his medical degree from the University of Alabama in 2005.  Dr. Merrell completed his residency in neurology from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 2009 followed by fellowship in neuro-oncology at the Massachusetts Cancer Center/Dana Farber Cancer Institute in 2010. He served at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago for eleven years. During that time, he was director of Neuro-Oncology for nine years. While there, he ran numerous clinical trials for patients with brain tumors.

Provider Spotlight

Kristen Pilote is a Staff Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Neurology’s stroke and cognitive divisions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She provides care to patients recovering from stroke in the outpatient clinic setting, as well as in the brain health clinic and post-acute COVID clinic.

Prior to her position at Vanderbilt, she worked as a Neurohospitalist Nurse Practitioner at Saint Thomas Medical Center in Nashville. She also served as a Primary Care Provider at Cherokee Regional Medical Center in Cherokee, IA, as well as a staff nurse at Cape Fear Medical Center in Fayetteville, NC and VUMC.

Kristen earned her MSN and Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification from Vanderbilt University. She earned her BSN from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

James McGuirk, MD is Assistant Professor of Neurology in the Sleep Medicine Division. He is board certified in Neurology and sees adult patients with a wide range of sleep disorders in his clinic as well as general neurology patients in the hospital on the inpatient consult services. He reads sleep studies and has experience with telemedicine as well. He was recently appointed by the governor to serve on the TN state polysomnography committee, helping to oversee the rules and regulations regarding the proper administration of sleep studies and credentialing of polysomnography technologists. Prior to working at Vanderbilt, Dr. McGuirk trained at Vanderbilt University, where he completed his residency and then completed his sleep fellowship in June 2021.

Lindsay Malatesta, MD is an assistant professor in the Neuromuscular Division and sees both neuromuscular patients as well as those that may require botulinum toxin injections. She also has Veterans Affairs responsibilities.  Dr. Malatesta trained at the University of Arkansas where she completed her residency and went on to complete a neuromuscular fellowship at Vanderbilt in June 2021.

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Britt Stone is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology’s Movement Disorders division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She manages adult movement disorder patients, including patients that require botulinum toxin injections and programming for deep brain stimulation, as well as patients in the Huntington’s disease clinic. She has been a member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology since 2014. She is also a member of the American Herbalist Guild, the Movement Disorders Society, and the American Association of Neurologists.

In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Stone holds a number of professional leadership positions at VUMC and elsewhere. She is part of the Physician Council for Clinical Service Excellence, the Early Career Council, and the Clinical Operations Director for VUMC’s main campus neurology clinics. She is also part of the Parkinson’s Foundation Fellowship Review Committee, a member of the Advisory Board at Boston Scientific, and an Expert Panelist for the Texas Medical Board. Dr. Stone is currently pursuing an Integrative Medicine Fellowship with the Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine in Tucson, AZ.

Prior to her current position at VUMC, Dr. Stone worked as a neurologist and movement disorders specialist at Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Round Rock, TX. She trained at the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed neurology residency. She subsequently completed a movement disorders fellowship at Langone Medical Center in New York City. She earned her M.D. from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, and her B.S. in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University.

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Andrew Giritharan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology’s Movement Disorders division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is also the Assistant Program Director for the Adult Neurology Residency Program and Associate Neurology Clerkship Director for the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Giritharan is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. 

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Giritharan leads many of the department’s educational programs. He is a trusted debriefer for the Cultivating Increased Resilience in the Clinical Learning Environment (CIRCLE) Program, Master Clinician Teacher, and a Portfolio Coach for the School of Medicine. He participates in the Geoffrey Fleming Academy for Excellence in Education Mentorship Program, and has served as a faculty advisor and mentor for several residents and research candidates. Dr. Giritharan has earned institutional awards such as the Resident Teaching Award, Excellence in Patient Experience Award, and Medical Student Teaching Award.

Dr. Giritharan’s research experience includes clinical studies for drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease. His peer-reviewed articles have been published in such journals as Neurology, Journal of Parkinson’s disease, and Movement Disorders.

Prior to his appointment at VUMC, Dr. Giritharan completed a fellowship in Movement Disorders at Oregon Health & Science University, and, concurrently, the Human Investigations Program at the Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute. He earned his M.D. from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, followed by Neurology residency at VUMC where he served as Chief Resident his senior year. He earned his B.S. in Physiology from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale where he graduated summa cum laude.