Trainee Profiles

Undergraduate Students

Thea Brennan-Krohn
(2003-2006)

My name is Thea Brennan-Krohn. I come from Orleans, Massachusetts and I graduated from Brown in 2003. As an undergraduate at Brown University, I studied Classics, focusing primarily on Greek and Latin literature. However, during my senior year I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Since graduating in the spring of 2003, I have been attending classes in the pre-medical Health Careers Program at Harvard University’s Extension School, and I plan to begin medical school in the fall of 2006.

I started working as a research assistant in the Memory & Aging Program (MAP) in the fall of 2003. I decided to work in the MAP because I had a long-standing interest in the human brain. Through my studies in ancient languages and linguistics, for instance, I had developed an interest in the brain’s interpretation of language.

I have various roles in my job in the Memory and Aging Program. When patients visit the clinic, I give them a brief test of memory and cognitive skills called the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). I also administer tests of working memory, gait, and motor skills which are part of research projects designed by other members of the program. Another part of my job involves preparing and submitting reports of research projects to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once a week, I attend a Journal Club led by Drs. Salloway, Malloy, and Correia, in which we read and discuss recent journal articles about aging and dementia. I also attend a weekly Case Conference where new patients’ cases are discussed and a diagnosis and plan of treatment are agreed upon. I am currently learning to rate MRI scans for a number of studies. Because my work at the Memory and Aging Program is so varied, I have been able to learn a great deal about the clinical and research aspects of medicine.

I was recently awarded a fellowship with the Summer Training on Aging Research Topics - Mental Health (START-MH) Program, conducted by the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at University of California, San Diego with grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). My research project for this fellowship will examine the correlation between executive function and working memory and the integrity of white matter in the brain in patients with vascular cognitive impairment. One of the most exciting parts of this project is learning how to analyze images of the brain acquired through Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI), a cutting-edge MRI imaging technique, in order to examine brain structure and function. Next year I hope to continue in the MAP and develop more laboratory skills by working on a project involving the development of an assay for a gene mutation that causes stroke and vascular dementia.

Working closely with doctors who are accomplished clinicians and researchers, I have an incredible amount of in-depth experience in geriatric neurology, and my work here has inspired me to continue studying neurology in the future.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about the work I am doing. My email address is tbrennan@butler.org.