Ryan Townley, MD

Professional Background

Dr. Ryan Townley, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, directs the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Fellowship. He actively advances Alzheimer's research as co-Principal Investigator of the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium and leads multiple clinical studies at the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Dr. Townley also serves as the medical director of the Memory Care Clinic at The University of Kansas Health System, delivering specialized patient care.

Board-certified in Psychiatry and Neurology, and UCNS-certified in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, he honed his expertise through a cognitive-behavioral fellowship and neurology residency at the Mayo Clinic. His medical training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine earned him the prestigious Dewey K. Ziegler Award for Excellence in Neurology and the American Academy of Neurology's Outstanding Neurology Medical Student Award. He began his academic journey with a bachelor's in neurobiology from the University of Kansas.

• BS, Neurobiology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
• MD, Medical Doctor, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS
• Other, Neurology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, MN
• Other, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, MN

• ABPN Certified in Psychiatry and Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
• Medical License, Kansas State Board of Healing Arts
• UCNS Certified in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry , United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties

• Lewy Body Disease Association, Clinical Education Task Force , Member, 2023 - Present
• International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, Member, 2017 - Present
• American Academy of Neurology, Member, 2015 - Present

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Research

Overview

In addition to authoring a growing number of publications, Dr. Townley has presented numerous lectures and posters nationally and around the world. His clinical and research interests include Alzheimer's diseases variants such as posterior cortical atrophy and dysexecutive Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. He also has professional interests in patient education and neurological disease-related seminars, resident and medical student education, and preventative health against neurodegenerative disease.

• AHEAD 3-45 Study, National Institute on Aging (NIA), Site-PI
• Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of CT1812 in Subjects With Mild to Moderate Dementia With Lewy Bodies (COG1201), National Institute on Aging , Site-PI
• Alzheimer’s Plasma Extension (APEX) Study, NIH/NIA, Site-PI

• Townley, R., A, Graff-Radford, J, Mantyh, W., G, Botha, H, Polsinelli, A., J, Przybelski, S., A, Machulda, M., M, Makhlouf, A., T, Senjem, M., L, Murray, M., E, Reichard, R., R, Savica, R, Boeve, B., F, Drubach, D., A, Josephs, K., A, Knopman, D., S, Lowe, V., J, Jack, Jr, C., R, Petersen, R., C, Jones, D., T. 2020. Progressive dysexecutive syndrome due to Alzheimer's disease: a description of 55 cases and comparison to other phenotypes.. Brain communications, 2 (1), fcaa068
• Townley, R., A, Botha, H, Graff-Radford, J, Whitwell, J, Boeve, B., F, Machulda, M., M, Fields, J., A, Drubach, D., A, Savica, R, Petersen, R., C, Senjem, M., L, Knopman, D., S, Lowe, V., J, Jack, Jr, C., R, Josephs, K., A, Jones, D., T. 2021. Posterior cortical atrophy phenotypic heterogeneity revealed by decoding (18)F-FDG-PET.. Brain communications, 3 (4), fcab182
• Pleen, Joseph, Townley, Ryan. 2021. Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial update 2019–2021
• Townley, R., A, Syrjanen, J., A, Botha, H, Kremers, W., K, Aakre, J., A, Fields, J., A, Machulda, M., M, Graff-Radford, J, Savica, R, Jones, D., T, Knopman, D., S, Petersen, R., C, Boeve, B., F. 2019. Comparison of the Short Test of Mental Status and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Across the Cognitive Spectrum.. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 94 (8), 1516-1523
• Townley, R., A, Botha, H, Graff-Radford, J, Boeve, B., F, Petersen, R., C, Senjem, M., L, Knopman, D., S, Lowe, V, Jack, Jr, C., R, Jones, D., T. 2018. (18)F-FDG PET-CT pattern in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.. NeuroImage. Clinical, 18, 897-902
• Townley, R., A, Boeve, B., F, Benarroch, E., E. 2018. Progranulin: Functions and neurologic correlations.. Neurology, 90 (3), 118-125
• Doher, N, Davoudi, V, Magaki, S, Townley, R., A, Haeri, M, Vinters, H., V. 2023. Illustrated Neuropathologic Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.. Neurology international, 15 (3), 857-867
• Vidoni, E., D, Morris, J., K, Watts, A, Perry, M, Clutton, J, Van Sciver, A, Kamat, A., S, Mahnken, J, Hunt, S., L, Townley, R, Honea, R, Shaw, A., R, Johnson, D., K, Vacek, J, Burns, J., M. 2021. Effect of aerobic exercise on amyloid accumulation in preclinical Alzheimer's: A 1-year randomized controlled trial.. PloS one, 16 (1), e0244893
• 2022. Chapter 78 - Frontotemporal Dementias
• Perales-Puchalt, J, Townley, R, Niedens, M, Vidoni, E., D, Greiner, K., A, Zufer, T, Schwasinger-Schmidt, T, McGee, J., L, Arreaza, H, Burns, J., M. 2022. Acceptability and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Remote Dementia Educational Training Among Primary Care Providers and Health Navigators.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 89 (4), 1375-1384