Ray Romano, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN, FNP-BC

Dr. Ray Romano is a family nurse practitioner with experience in research and quality improvement. His focus is on health services research, and his specific interests are in the detection, diagnosis and care of dementia in the primary care setting. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Marymount Manhattan College, his master’s degree in public health from Boston University and his master’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University. He completed his PhD at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center during which he studied how alteration in the pain experience differs in those at risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr. Romano's interest in dementia began as an undergraduate studying the role a certain protein plays in insulin-related neurodegenerative diseases. While at Boston University, he worked in clinical research at the school’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center, then moved to Nashville to join the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center. He also completed a yearlong fellowship at the Department of Veterans Affairs, focusing on quality improvement.