Sarah A. Cooley, PhD

Sarah A. Cooley, PhD

Sarah Cooley is an Instructor in Neurology in the Ances lab. She completed her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at University of Missouri – St. Louis in 2016 working under Dr. Robert Paul in a lab studying changes in the brain during healthy aging. She began working with Dr. Ances in 2016 as a data analyst on projects examining cognition and structural brain changes in older people living HIV. Her research interests include changes in the aging brain, and how changes in the brain due to aging and/or HIV might impact cognitive outcomes and activities of daily living.

Olga  Del Rosario, BS, MD

Olga Del Rosario, BS, MD

Olga is a clinical coordinator in the Ances Lab.

John R. Doyle, MA

John R. Doyle, MA

John is a clinical research coordinator who works in both the department of neurology and radiology. He has a MA in psychology from the University of West Georgia and has experience working with a variety of clinical and research populations ranging from adolescents to older adults. For the past several years, he has worked on multiple projects focusing on memory, aging, HIV, and Alzheimer’s disease. Along with recruiting and scheduling research participants, John facilitates study visits by administering neuropsychological tests and coordinating MRI and PET neuroimaging scans.

Brittany M. Nelson, BS

Brittany M. Nelson, BS

Brittany Nelson is a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator in the Ances Lab. She studied psychology at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She is currently leading the Down syndrome studies as well as working with Dr. Ances in the clinical setting. She was the lead Coordinator on the Exercise Study in the Ances Lab at Washington University and has worked in the Ances Lab since 2014. Brittany has experience working with older adults as well as adolescents. She is the resident REDCap advisor for the lab as well as the website designer and manages the social media accounts. Brittany is also a certified yoga instructor and has a Siamese cat named Yakmaine and a coonhound puppy named Infinity.

Regina L. Thompson, BA

Regina L. Thompson, BA

Regina Thompson holds a BA in mathematics from Saint Louis University. She has worked at Washington University in St. Louis since 2002, and joined the Ances Lab in 2014. Regina has extensive experience in project management, performing neuropsychological assessments, and collecting MRI and PET neuroimaging data. She recruits and works with research participants across all age groups on multiple NIH-funded projects. She also coordinates the CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study for the Washington University site and is certified to perform neurocognitive assessments through University of California San Diego. Additionally, she assists with budgets, grant management, and other administrative functions for the Ances Lab.

Elizabeth Westerhaus, MA

Elizabeth Westerhaus, MA

Liz holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology from St. Louis University, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Adult Clinical Psychology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and has been at WashU since 2001. She worked in the mental health field for 20 years (the last 10 of which were spent at the WashU Dept. of Psychiatry) before migrating to the Dept. of Neurology to work with Dr. Ances in 2011. Liz currently serves as the Ances lab manager, supervising coordinators in the recruitment, enrollment, and acquisition of data for their studies; maintaining all regulatory approvals for the lab (IRB, RDRC, IND, DUA/MTA, etc.); maintaining all personnel files; overseeing the lab’s budget; and assisting with grant writing, post-award fund management, and other administrative functions.