Zachary Green, Ph.D.

Professional Background

A lifetime Kansas resident, I graduated from the University of Kansas Main Campus with degrees in Human Biology, Psychology, and Biochemistry. For ~ 2 years, I worked with Dr. David K. Johnson in the Neuropsychology and Aging Laboratory, assisting in his investigations into the cognitive and biological markers of neurodegeneration, specifically Alzheimer's Disease. My time in the NAL lab helped develop my interests into how various lifestyle factors influence brain aging and AD, as well as built my foundation in concepts of cognition, such as the underpinnings of executive function and self-regulation. My undergraduate interests and my long-standing intent to study the brain led me to pursue my medical and graduate training here at KUMC.

My current interests stem from a desire to synthesize scientific and clinical skillsets, with the end goal of improving diagnostic and interventionist aspects of neuropsychiatric medicine. I have spent time in Dr. Randolph Nudo's lab, assisting with his investigation into neural correlates of motor recovery after stroke. This past summer, I permanently settled in at the Alzheimer's Disease Center under the co-mentorship of Dr. Jill Morris and Dr. Jeff Burns.

Within Dr. Morris' lab, we pursue the exploration of complex relationships between neurodegeneration, energy metabolism, and insulin resistance. Additionally, a growing body of evidence suggests prescribed exercise regimens can result in cognitive benefits in Alzheimer's Diseases patients, potentially due to the acute exercise response inducing changes in permeating factors of the brain. My current focus is on linking these types of metabolic states and changes with structural and functional measures of brain activity, in hopes of providing biomarkers and furthering our mechanistic understandings of Alzheimer's progression.

I spend most of my free time with my dogs, my kitchen, and an ever-growing list of favored podcasts. Two books I would recommend to any individuals wanting to pursue the career of a clinician-scientist in the neurosciences are "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi and "The Brain from the Inside Out" by György Buzsáki.

Mentor: Jill Morris, Ph.D., Neuroscience