Dr. Robert Fallis is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  Dr. Fallis previously practiced general neurology in Nashville with an emphasis on the care of patients with multiple sclerosis and other immunologic diseases. He recently returned to the Nashville area to join the general neurology faculty at VUMC and will care for patients at the Vanderbilt Clinic in Nashville and at the Vanderbilt Wilson County Clinic in Lebanon. His primary interests include general neurology, headache, and immune mediated neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Fallis completed his undergraduate education at the University of California at San Diego and then received a Master of Science degree from the University of Chicago.  He received his MD degree from the University of Kentucky and completed his neurology residency training at the University of Southern California. He was awarded a National Multiple Sclerosis Society fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. He then served as Senior Staff Fellow with the Neuroimmunology Branch at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.  He is board certified in Neurology and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. 

Dr. Fallis established and directed an MS treatment clinic in Lexington, KY and later established and directed the first Comprehensive MS Treatment Center in Nashville, TN. He has participated in numerous clinical trials to develop new and novel treatments for various diseases and has authored many peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Fallis has lectured on multiple sclerosis locally as well as nationally. During his recent tenure at The Ohio State University, he   taught medical students, nurse practitioners, residents, and neuroimmunology fellows. Dr. Fallis has served with the National MS Society both nationally and locally and has received community service awards for his work with multiple sclerosis. In addition to MS, Dr. Fallis has diagnosed and treated a myriad of other neurological symptoms and diseases throughout his career.  He has had years of experience treating general neurology patients and gains great satisfaction helping his patients optimize their health.

Dr. Alphonso Smith completed his undergraduate studies at La Sierra University where he earned a degree in Psychobiology with a minor in Biology. Dr. Smith completed his doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology at Loma Linda University (APA-Accredited). For his pre-internship training, Dr. Smith completed a wide range of neuropsychology practicums across various medical settings including the UCLA Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Loma Linda University Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital of Orange County. For his internship, Dr. Smith completed the Adult Neuropsychology Track at the Vanderbilt-VA Consortium (APA-Accredited). In this role, he received specialized neuropsychology training at the Vanderbilt Epilepsy-Neuropsychology Program and at the Nashville VA Medical Center. Dr. Smith then completed his post-doctoral neuropsychology fellowship at the Alexian Brothers/Amita Health Neurosciences Institute (APPCN-Member) where he received lifespan neuropsychological training for pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations.

Next, Dr. Smith worked as a neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine where he continued providing neuropsychological services for patients across the age-span. He also specialized in providing pre-surgical Wada testing and outpatient neuropsychological evaluations for patients at their Epilepsy Center. In addition, he provided pre-DBS neuropsychological evaluations for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor at their Movement Disorders Clinic. At present, Dr. Smith is an adult neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His clinical populations serviced include dementia, epilepsy, stroke, brain tumor, TBI, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, and ADHD.

Dr. Smith’s research interests include concussion, executive functioning, epilepsy, and behavioral neuroscience. He has published journal articles in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology and the Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work. He has also given presentations at various conferences including for the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Society for Neuroscience, American Neuropsychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and National Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. He is a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, International Honor Society in Psychology (Psi Chi), and National Biological Honor Society (TriBeta).