Dr. Lee Ryan received a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Clinical Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1992, and is now an Associate Professor in the departments of Psychology and Neurology. She also teaches in the Neurosciences Interdisciplinary Program. She is the Director of the Cognition and Neuroimaging Laboratories at the University of Arizona, making available magnetic resonance imaging technology to cognitive researchers on campus.
Her research focuses on the neural basis of memory, age-related changes in memory, and how these changes relate to brain functioning. Her research is currently funded by the National Institute on Neurologic Disorders and Stroke, the Arizona Disease Control Research Commission, and the Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. She has a special interest in memory disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease, AIDS-related dementia, and diseases of white matter including multiple sclerosis.
As an associate professor in the Cognition and Neural Systems program and the Clinical Neuropsychology program at the University of Arizona's Department of Psychology, Dr. Ryan teaches undergraduate classes in human memory and graduate level courses such as Human Brain Behavior Relationships, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Principles of Neuroanatomy. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Ryan works with individuals and families who are coping with chronic and progressive diseases that effect cognitive functioning, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
