FACULTY & STAFF

Associate Professor Sami Barmada, MD, PhD

Michigan Brain Bank Director (2021 - )

Dr. Barmada, M.D. Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Neurology, and the Angela Dobson and Lyndon Welch Research Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University in St. Louis, and completed his neurology residency and postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Gladstone Institutes, both in San Francisco, CA. His research takes advantage of a broad toolkit of innovative technologies and methods involving fluorescence microscopy, computer science and engineering, bioinformatics, genome engineering and molecular biology to investigate important yet unanswered questions in neurodegenerative disease. 

Professor Andrew Lieberman, MD, PhD

Neuropathologist

Dr. Andrew Lieberman is the Abrams Collegiate Professor of Pathology and Director of Neuropathology at the University of Michigan Medical School.  He received his BS from Duke University and his MD, PhD from the University of Maryland Medical School.  He completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology and fellowship training in Neuropathology at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Lieberman’s research is focused on the mechanism of neurodegeneration in inherited neurological disorders.  

Matthew D. Perkins, B.S.

Michigan Brain Bank Manager (2014 - )

Matthew Perkins is the Michigan Brain Bank coordinator.  He has been involved in research, specifically movement disorders and dementia related disease, since 2012. Matthew manages and trains Michigan Brain Bank laboratory staff,  coordinates the Michigan Brain Bank's autopsy services, performs research recovery services for Michigan Brain Bank's collaborating clinics and studies, as well as, research groups across the country, and collaborates with research groups across the University of Michigan campus and throughout the United States. He is passionate about improving clinical care and research through his involvement in the Michigan Brain Bank. Matthew earned his Bachelor of Science in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan.

Katrina Tardif

Michigan Brain Bank Autopsy Coordinator (2022 - )

Katrina Tardif is the Michigan Brain Bank Autopsy Coordinator. She is a graduate of Wayne State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Mortuary Science. Katrina is passionate about serving the dementia community through autopsy services. 

Amber Spencer

Michigan Brain Bank Research Laboratory Specialist (2023 - )

Amber is the Michigan Brain Bank Laboratory Specialist. She is a graduate of Oakland University where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She maintains a dual position with the Brain Bank and Paulson Lab. In the Michigan Brain Bank, she is responsible for fulfilling tissue requests. Amber is passionate about research and furthering her understanding of neurodegenerative disease.

Sydney Stumpo

Michigan Brain Bank Biorepository Coordinator (2023 - )

Sydney is the Michigan Brain Bank Biorepository Coordinator. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Laboratory Sciences. Her main career goal is to become a Forensic Science Technician, though she is open to exploring other fields. In the meantime, she is gaining experience at the Michigan Brain Bank. After watching her grandfather decline, and unfortunately pass from Alzheimer's Disease, she grew passionate about the disease.