Dr. Rachel Clark Cole, a former graduate student and post-doctoral scholar in the Health, Brain & Cognition Lab, is a research scientist focusing on the neurophysiology of cognitive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease at the University of Minnesota Neuromodulation Research Center, Department of Neurology. 

Rachel conducts research primarily with individuals who have Parkinson's disease and have opted to have deep brain stimulation treatment. Such individuals have electrodes implanted into a subcortical structure; constant electrical stimulation into the area normalizes dysfunctional brain rhythms and provides symptom relief. Rachel's main projects are focused on determining the optimal locations for these deep brain electrodes to target cognitive symptoms.

She works with patients both intraoperatively (patients are awake during their implantation surgery and often consent to research) and postoperatively during clinical visits. Rachel says her work in the HBC Lab prepared her well for patient-facing research, especially for running cognitive tasks in a variety of settings. She loves working with older adults and is passionate about understanding cognitive aging and improving quality of life throughout the lifespan. Rachel also enjoys working with undergraduate students, and she teaches Neuroscience and Psychology courses at the University of St. Thomas and St. Olaf College.

Rachel received her BA in neuroscience/psychology from Knox College in 2012 and earned her PhD at the University of Iowa in 2018, building her expertise in cognitive aging at the HBC Lab. She completed a postdoc fellowship in Kumar Narayanan's lab, also at the University of Iowa, where she entered the field of Parkinson's disease research, specifically focusing on neurophysiology of cognitive symptoms in Parkinson's disease. She continues this line of work at the University of Minnesota, working in Dr. Joshua Aman's lab, alongside Stephanie Alberico, another UI Neuroscience alum.  

Rachel lives with her husband and two daughters, Emerson and Juniper, in a southeast suburb of the Twin Cities. They enjoy being as active as possible through swimming, gymnastics, dancing, sledding, and exploring the many playgrounds in the area.