Vicky Whittemore, PhD

Vicky Whittemore, PhD is a Program Director in the Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this position, Dr. Whittemore combines her basic neuroscience training with her passion for helping individuals with epilepsy and genetic disorders to shepherd a portfolio of grants on the basic mechanisms and causes of epilepsy, including genetic causes, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Dr. Whittemore received a BS in Zoology from Iowa State University and a PhD in anatomy from the University of Minnesota Medical School. She did post-doctoral training at the University of California, Irvine, and a Fogarty Fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She was on the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine in The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis before turning to work with nonprofit organizations after her nephew was diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis complex. She spent 23 years working for nonprofit organizations including the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Genetic Alliance, CURE Epilepsy, and the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG). Dr. Whittemore joined the staff of NINDS in August 2011.