Kristen Willeumier, PhD, is a renowned neuroscientist with extensive research expertise in brain function, injury and disorders. Dr. Willeumier holds a BA degree in psychology from Boston College, and MS degrees in physiological science and neurobiology and a PhD degree in neurobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She conducted her graduate work in the laboratory of neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles and the laboratory of neurogenetics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she continued her work in the field of neurodegenerative disease, focusing on the molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease. In recognition of her work at UCLA and Cedars- Sinai, she was the recipient of the prestigious NIH fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health and has presented her work at national and international scientific meetings including the Society for Neuroscience and the Gordon Research Conference in Hong Kong, China.