About Us

Origin and Vision

Navigating Neuropsychology (NavNeuro for short) was created to fill a void in the neuropsychological community, which previously had no discipline-specific podcast.

We have three main objectives for the podcast:

Provide scientifically based, interesting, and easily-accessible information for students and professionals in neuropsychology, as well as anyone who is interested in brain-behavior relationships.
Begin working towards unification on important areas of debate within neuropsychology, while also encouraging the expression of diverse, creative ideas and opinions.
Act as an outlet for innovative ideas and breaking news in the field to allow listeners to stay abreast of current scientific and professional developments in neuropsychology.

We are both avid listeners of a variety of podcasts and did not want the neuropsychology community to be left out of this medium…so we took matters into our own hands!

Check out this Brown University online news article for more of the NavNeuro “origin story.”

About the Creators, Hosts, and Producers*

*Ryan and John contribute equally to the podcast

Ryan Van Patten, Ph.D., ABPP-CN

Ryan is an Assistant Professor at Brown University and a Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Providence VA Medical Center in Providence, RI. He completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University, internship at Brown University, and fellowships in neuropsychology at the University of California San Diego and Harvard Medical School.

Ryan is an active researcher, clinician, and educator. As an early career clinical scientist, he has over 70 peer reviewed publications, books, and book chapters (more than 30 first authored). He serves an Associate Editor for the APA journal, Neuropsychology and is a member of the Editorial Boards of four additional journals. His research program focuses on functional neurological disorder, digital neuropsychology, traumatic brain injury, and cognitive rehabilitation.

Ryan’s contributions to education and training in neuropsychology include his role as co-founder, co-producer, and co-host of the Navigating Neuropsychology (NavNeuro) podcast, his role as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Neuropsychology (AACN), and his position as Neuropsychology Track Coordinator for the Clinical Psychology Internship Program at Brown University. His achievements in neuropsychology to date were recognized with the receipt of the 2023 Levitt Early Career Award in Neuropsychology from APA Division 40 and the 2025 Sidney R. Baer Jr. American Neuropsychiatric Association Career Development Award (Clinical Scientist Track).

John Bellone, Ph.D., ABPP-CN

John graduated with his Ph.D. from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA. He completed his Psychology Internship at Yale University in New Haven, CT, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University in Providence, RI. He is board-certified in clinical neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). He has worked in both inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient settings through group practices and currently works as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at Kaiser Permanente in Southern CA. Additionally, he is the lead neuropsychology consultant for the Anaheim Ducks NHL team and a founding member of the New2Neuropsychology (N2N) program.

John’s career goals are to provide excellent neuropsychological services to adults and older adults with a variety of conditions and concerns. Although his clinical interests are broad, he is particularly passionate about reducing risk for cognitive decline and improving overall health through lifestyle modification. He has lectured extensively on the power that exercise, healthy diet, quality sleep, psychological well-being, and staying cognitively and socially active have on maintaining/improving cognitive functioning both now and as we age.