Meet the Fellows 2022-2023

Elizabeth Ackley, MD - Headache Medicine

Liz is from the Boston area. She completed medical school at the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York and Pediatrics and Child Neurology residency training through the University of Colorado/Children’s Hospital of Colorado, and is excited to stay on as a Headache Fellow. Liz is also interested in medical education, as well as collaborative neurologic and mental health care.

Kelly Breaux, MD - Epilepsy

Kelly grew up in Louisiana and received her bachelor in Biology from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. With her dance minor, she spent time dancing with the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre and performing in the modern company Of Moving Colors before heading off to medical school. She graduated from Louisiana State University Health Shreveport School of Medicine. She completed Neurology residency at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, where she served as Wellness Chief. She is very excited to join the Epilepsy team to learn from leaders in the field. In her free time, Kelly enjoys dancing, hiking, kayaking, watching ballets, Cajun cuisine, and spending time with her friends and family.

Lucia Chen, MD - Vascular

Lucia grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and received a bachelor degree in Biochemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She attended medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia and completed her residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She is interested in hospital neurology with a specialization in stroke. Outside the hospital, she enjoys hiking and creative writing.

Stephen “Zach” Cox, DO - Neuromuscular

Zach earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship and Neurology residency at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was Chief Resident his final year. Dr. Cox enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, trail running, hiking, playing guitar and piano, and cooking.

Anthony Declusin, MD - MS/Neuroimmunology

Anthony was born and raised in southern California and attended UC Santa Barbara for his undergraduate degree in biopsychology. He attended Boston University for a master's program in medical sciences before enrolling at the Medical College of Wisconsin for medical school. He completed his internship/residency in Neurology at the University of Colorado. He is very excited to stay on for my fellowship training here and look forward to working with residents and medical students throughout the upcoming year.

Jordan Gallegos, MD - Epilepsy

Hailing from Ft. Collins, CO, Jordan completed undergrad studies at Auburn University, medical school at Emory University, and Neurology residency with our program. He enjoys soccer, basketball, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, whitewater rafting, microbreweries, cooking New Mexican cuisine and salsa dancing.

Madeline Garza, MD - Neurohospitalist

A native of Boulder, Madeline is excited to start her Neurohospitalist Fellowship, with a particular interest in autoimmune neurology, after graduating from residency here at the University of Colorado. She completed most of her schooling in Chicago, finishing an undergraduate degree in Psychology at DePaul University and then medical school at Rosalind Franklin University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and taking advantage all the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer.

Brooke Heffernan, MD - Movement Disorders

Originally from Kansas City, Brooke moved to Colorado to be closer to family and the mountains. She completed medical school at the University of Kansas and Residency at the University of Colorado. She served as a Chief Neurology Resident her last year, and has a particular interest in resident well-being. Her academic research has mostly involved Palliative Care and Huntington's Disease. Brooke's interests include hiking with my chocolate lab, cooking, gardening, trying new restaurants, and spending time with friends and family.

Heather Heiser, MD - Movement Disorders

Heather grew up in both California and Michigan and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Michigan. She went to medical school at Michigan State University at the Grand Rapids campus. She spent four years in Chicago while completing her Neurology residency at Rush University, and is excited to her second year of Movement Disorders Fellowship at the University of Colorado. In her free time, she enjoys board games, hiking, and traveling the country in an attempt to visit all US National Parks.

Austin Momii, MD  - Behavioral Neurology

Austin was born in San Antonio, TX at Brooke Army Medical Center, where his father was serving in the US Army as a Radiologist. He completed undergrad studies at UCLA, medical school at UCI and Neurology Residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he served as Chief Resident. Austin will follow his Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry fellowship with a Vascular Neurology fellowship here, to study the relationship between the neurovascular unit and neurodegenerative disease. Austin enjoys spending time with his wife, who is completing her Residency training at the University of Colorado. He loves having immediate access to the idyllic Rocky Mountains, where you can find him skiing and hiking.

Kelli Money, MD, PhD - Neuro-Infectious Disease

Kelli hails from a small town in south Alabama and received a BS in chemistry at UAB. She spent nine years at Vanderbilt for her MD, neuroscience PhD, and internship, and ccompleted Neurology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. With her husband and their two dogs, she is excited to be in Colorado for an awesome fellowship, aerospace engineering, and the beautiful scenery

Antonia Pusso, MD - Movement Disorders

Antonia was born and raised in Virginia. She obtained her bachelor degree in Neuroscience at University of Virginia, VA. She went to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD for two years prior to medical school, and then returned to Virginia where she completed medical school at University of Virginia. She completed her medical internship and neurology residency in Boston at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident in her final year. In her free time, Antonia enjoys listening to podcasts, cross stitching, hiking, biking, and exploring outdoors.

Russell Van Coevering, MD, MBA - Vascular
Russell grew up in Buffalo, NY, where he completed his undergraduate education in Biochemistry and Pharmacology and Toxicology, medical and business degrees and Residency at the University of Buffalo. During his medical school training, Russell fortuitously applied for a dual degree in business and met his wife, Ashwani Gupta; they have a son, Russell IV. Together they love the outdoors and traveling and are excited to explore the landscape of Colorado and travel more broadly throughout the West. Russell’s outside interests include reading short stories, novels, intriguing journalism, and on the off chance that he has a few extra minutes in the day, some console gaming. Russell enjoys fine coffee and great beer and is excited by the opportunity to experience some of the nation’s best here in Colorado.

Andrew Wolf, MD - Neuroimmunology/MS

Andrew grew up in Phoenix and completed his undergraduate studies at Arizona State University. He completed medical school and a master degree in neuroscience here at the University of Colorado before staying for internship and neurology residency, serving as Chief Resident in his final year. He is excited to continue as a Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Fellow. His academic interests include the evaluation of cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis, strategies to sequence disease modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis, and optimizing the inpatient management of neuroimmunological diseases. Outside of work, he enjoys listening to music, watching baseball and college basketball, reading non-fiction, and exploring the Mountain West.

Matthew Woodward, MD - Movement Disorders

Matthew grew up in the Philadelphia area with all sorts of pets (cats, dogs, birds, lizards, goats, etc). He went to Penn State University where he was on the boxing team and graduated with a BS in Biology. He went to Drexel University College of Medicine for medical school, followed by University of Maryland Medical Center for Neurology residency. He is excited to be here for his Movement Disorders fellowship. In his spare time, he keeps up a little with boxing, watches an eclectic mix of TV/movies, goes to live music (rock, indie, pop punk), pretends to still have the regular know-how for rock climbing, and listens to comedy/ improv/history podcasts.