Keith McGregor

Keith McGregor is an Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences. His work investigates aging-related declines in motor control and its implications for stroke rehabilitation. His work employs multimodal imaging (TMS, fMRI, MRS, and DWI) and neurostimulation techniques ( rTMS, tDCS). Dr. McGregor's research has shown that aging is associated with decreased levels of cortical inhibition, which affects cognition and motor control, including motor learning. However, a significant facet of this aging-related phenomenon is that individual differences in physical activity level appear to mitigate changes in cortical communication. Dr. McGregor's research has shown that lifestyle interventions can lessen or even reverse aging-related declines in behavioral performance in motor and cognitive domains. These findings have great relevance to rehabilitation programs that the incorporation of increased physical activity may augment. His Lab is the Alabama Brain Lab - IT (ABL-IT).

Dr. Keith M. McGregor is an Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), with secondary appointments across UAB’s Schools of Health Professions and Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Florida, where his early work focused on TMS and fMRI correlates of aerobic activity and aging.

Dr. McGregor's career spans over two decades, transitioning from systems administration in the tech industry to leading NIH- and VA-funded neurorehabilitation research programs. He held multiple academic and research roles at the University of Florida and Emory University before joining UAB in 2021. He has directed multiple neurostimulation labs, including the Neuronavigated TMS Core at Emory and the TMS lab at UAB.

His research specializes in aging-related changes in cortical inhibitory function, neuroplasticity, and the effects of exercise and neuromodulation on cognitive and motor performance. He is widely published, with over 70 peer-reviewed papers and numerous conference presentations. He also serves on editorial boards and scientific committees for major journals and rehabilitation organizations.

Dr. Keith M. McGregor received his doctoral training in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Florida, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2010. His dissertation focused on the neural correlates of aerobic activity across age groups, utilizing a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional MRI approach to investigate how physical activity influences brain function across the lifespan.

Prior to his doctoral work, Dr. McGregor earned a Master of Science in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Florida in 2006. His thesis examined negative BOLD responses in aging, laying the groundwork for his later research on cortical plasticity and functional brain changes in older adults.

Dr. McGregor began his academic journey with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross in 1997, where he concentrated in Biological Psychology. His undergraduate education fostered an early interest in the interface between mind and brain, which has since evolved into a distinguished career at the intersection of neuroscience, rehabilitation, and aging.