General Neurology Team

Before founding the institute in 1982, Dr. Vernon D. Rowe earned his BS and MD degrees at Duke University. He served his internship at Harborview Hospital in Seattle and obtained his neurology residency training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Rowe then served as a research associate at the National Institutes of Health in developmental neurobiology. Rowe next joined the faculty at the University of Kansas Medical School in the Department of Neurology as an associate professor. At KU he taught and mentored medical students and residents, and carried out basic research on neuron-target interactions, funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration, and the March of Dimes Foundation. The author of numerous research publications, Rowe is currently an adjunct professor of neurology at the University of Kansas Medical School.

In addition to his work as a physician and researcher, Rowe has many skills and interests. He is a pilot, and for many years he flew in small planes and helicopters to several rural towns in Missouri and Kansas to hold neurology clinics. He is an accomplished bluegrass musician and songwriter, and has published a book of poetry.

Professional affiliations: certified in neurology and in sleep medicine, as well as electro-myography, electroencephalography, and neuro-MRI. His professional affiliations include the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine,  the Society for Neuroscience, and the American Society for Neurochemistry. He is licensed in Missouri, Kansas, and North Carolina.

Dr. Moreng received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A & M University and his medical degree from the University of Minnesota. Moreng completed an internship in internal medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital  of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas and a residency in neurology at Hermann Hospital of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Moreng also completed a one-year fellowship in neuroimaging at the Southwest Michigan M.R.I. Center of the Kalamazoo Neurologic Institute.  Moreng has been the director of the Imaging Center for Consultants in Neurology since 1983.

Professional Affiliations: American Medical Association, Metropolitan Medical Society, American Society for Neuroimaging, American Academy of Neurology Board. Certifications National Board of Medical Examiners Board, eligible for the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology.  Licensure: Missouri and Kansas.

Dr. VanOwen completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Cincinnati, graduating summa cum laude, and then receive a Masters of Science at Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston. He completed medical school at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and then neurology residency at Indiana University. While at Indiana, Dr. VanOwen completed a Neurophysiology Fellowship with training in EMG, EEG and Evoked Potentials.

Dr. VanOwen is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with Board Certification in Neurology, Sleep Medicine and Clinical Neurophysiology.

Professional Affiliations: American Academy of Neurology, American Medical Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Lincensure: Missouri and Kansas.

Dr. Winegarner, who joined the Institute in  2001, was previously associated with the Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Institute in Joplin, Missouri.  Winegarner graduated from Oklahoma University with a bachelor’s in medical technology and then attended osteopathic school at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His residencies in both internal medicine and in neurology were from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.  Additionally, Dr. Winegarner has extensive additional training in the administration of neurotoxin therapies and also pursues neurological research. Winegarner is a frequent lecturer on stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological topics.

Professional Affiliations: Diplomat  to National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners,  American Academy of Neurology, American Osteopathic Association, Christian Medical and Dental Society, American Headache Society.

Dr. Carolyn Karr practices Clinical Neuropsychology at the Rowe Neurology Institute, conducting neuropsychological evaluations for a variety of precipitating issues, including dementia, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, head injuries, seizure activity and stroke/TIA. Dr. Karr also evaluates children, adolescents, and young adults for neuropsychological effects of ADHD, learning disabilities, and developmental disorders. She has conducted research related to neuropsychological deficits associated with trauma and substance abuse, and current research interests include cognitive fatigue, mild cognitive impairment, self-efficacy as a tool in rehabilitative outcomes, and the role of anxiety in sleep disorders.

Dr. Karr earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Iowa State University. During her years in training, she completed her pre-doctoral internship in Clinical Psychology at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, with an emphasis in Clinical Neuropsychology. She has also completed post-doctoral residencies in Rural Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology. Dr. Karr has worked in hospital, community mental health, private practice, substance abuse program, forensic, and university settings in the past.

Tammy Tubbs manages the Imaging Center at Rowe Neurology Institute, where MRI, X-ray, ultrasound, and ocular coherence tomography (OCT) procedures are performed to assist the doctors in diagnosis.

Tammy earned her Radiology degree at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. From there she attended the Interventional Radiology School at the University of Virginia Medical Center to advance her degree. She worked at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City on the stroke team, which performed interventional radiology procedures on stroke victims to greatly improve patients’ future quality of life.

Tammy also became an educator in her field by starting a Special Procedures Radiology School at Saint Luke’s Hospital. She became the school coordinator and taught most classes. During this time she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in health care management.