UCSF’s innovative, collaborative approach to patient care, research and education spans disciplines across the life sciences, making it a world leader in scientific discovery and its translation to improving health.
Igor Prufer Q.C. Araujo obtained his MD degree at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He completed his neurology residency at Texas Tech University in Lubbock Texas being the chief resident in his final year of training. His current research interests include the benefits of multilingualism to cognitive reserve, the neural basis of decision making and socioeconomic factors affecting dementia care.
Rhiana Schafer is a Research Data Analyst with 6+ years of experience in a variety of research settings, from small labs to large centers. Her research interests include a variety of aspects of neuroscience and aging, including the language network and primary progressive aphasia (PPA), music interventions in dementia, and health equity and equal access to care. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2016, with a double major in Cognitive Science and Molecular & Cellular Biology.
Mei graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2022 with a degree in Cognitive Science and a minor in Computer Science. As an undergrad, she worked as a research assistant in the Gopnik Cognitive Development Lab, studying language acquisition and causal reasoning in children, and the Wilbrecht Neuroscience Lab, using calcium imaging to study the neural correlates of learning in juvenile and adult mice.
Andrea graduated from Cornell University in May 2022 with a major in Biology & Society and a minor in Latin American Studies. She joined the MAC in June 2022 as an assistant research coordinator in the Dementia Imaging Genetics Lab, coordinating a study that aims to identify how early-disease-specific neural circuit differences develop in children carrying mutations causing frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
D. Luke Fischer is a neurologist-neuroscientist with an interest in cognition in neuronal synucleinopathies. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Michigan State University with degrees in Philosophy and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and he remained there to complete his PhD degree in Neuroscience in the laboratory of Dr. Caryl E. Sortwell as part of a dual-MD/PhD program. As a trainee in the NINDS Morris K.
Sarah Kaufman received her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cell Biology, with a focus in Neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed her MD/PhD degrees through Washington University in St. Louis MSTP. Her graduate research focused on tau aggregation and tau strain biology in the laboratory of Marc Diamond. After completing her dual degree she began Neurology residency at the University of California, San Francisco.
Drew attended undergraduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health (BSPH) with a major in Health Policy and Management. After graduation, he worked for a strategy consulting firm in healthcare for two years in Washington D.C. He went to Johns Hopkins for medical school and then came to UCSF for neurology residency.
His interests have predominantly been in implementation science, business in medicine, quality improvement, and clinical presentations in the grey area between neurology and psychiatry.
Michelle received her master’s degree in Lifespan Developmental Psychology with a specialization in Gerontology from Louisiana State University. She has over 25 years of experience working with people with dementia and their care partners as a researcher, consultant, educator and program planner. Her areas of expertise include timely detection, early intervention and improving health care quality for people with dementia.
Sreya graduated from UC Santa Barbara in June 2022, where she majored in Biopsychology. At UC Santa Barbara, Sreya completed an independent research project studying the changes in vocal attractiveness in relation to the female fertile window and other reproductive cycle phases.
Sreya currently works as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator under Dr. Adam Staffaroni. She will be working on remote projects testing and validating a smartphone app designed for patients with frontotemporal dementia.
Samhita graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2022 with a degree in cognitive science. During college, she worked in the Cognitive Development & Learning Lab with Dr. Ny Vasil and Dr. Alison Gopnik researching the development of causal reasoning in children. She completed her undergraduate thesis in the Gopnik Lab, exploring the relationship between Generic Language and Causal Stability in adults.
