Benjamin P Austin
Assistant Scientist
D-4211 GRECC
William S. Middleton VA Hospital
2500 Overlook Terrace
Madison, WI, 53705
Office:
(608)256-1901 x 11643
Lab:
Fax:
Email:
bpaustin@medicine.wisc.edu
Web:
Biography:
Dr. Austin’s training as a cognitive neuropsychologist stems from a path in which technology and research are tightly coupled. As an undergraduate, he sought a background in mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University and then pursued research and design experience at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (Laurel, Maryland) where he developed nanotechnology motors to be used on the Hubble Space Telescope. Wanting to focus his research towards clinical populations, Dr. Austin pursued his graduate studies in cognitive-experimental psychology at the University of Georgia, where he used functional brain imaging to study the neural correlates of executive dysfunction in schizophrenia. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2010, Dr. Austin was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the UW Cardiovascular Research Center and joined the Wisconsin ADRC Imaging Group. After completing his training, he accepted an Assistant Scientist position with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine. Dr. Austin is interested in identifying imaging biomarkers that can be used to reliably predict development of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, he is investigating the relationship of white matter hyperintensities with cerebral perfusion and cognition in adult children of persons with AD.