staff

Isabel joined the Clinical Affective Neuroscience (CAN) Laboratory at UCSF’s Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center in September 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow in neuropsychology. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Southern California and completed her predoctoral internship in geriatric neuropsychology at the Palo Alto VA. During her graduate studies, Isabel explored the relationships between physiological functioning—particularly blood pressure—and brain aging, as well as the risk of cognitive decline.

Alison Walmsley is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, where she works on the Advancing Diagnosis of Dementia in Primary Care Practice (ADDPCP) study, a multi-year project funded by the National Institute on Aging. The study aims to equip primary care providers with a diagnostic toolkit designed to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of dementia diagnoses, with a focus on overcoming barriers to access and implementation.

Shaista Afzal is a research coordinator for the Brain Aging Network for Cognitive Health (BRANCH) program.

Fade Chen (they/them), PhD, is a data analyst at UC San Francisco in the NeuroAI Lab at the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. They earned their doctorate in cognition and perception from New York University, where they studied under the guidance of Dr. David Poeppel. Dr. Chen’s research investigates how semantic structures influence human memory and meaning-making, using computational tools to gain insights into language processing.

Finn Talmon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior from the University of California, Davis, in June 2025.

Lynn Kurteff, PhD, CF-SLP, is a postdoctoral scholar in the ALBA Lab at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. Their research focuses on primary progressive aphasia (PPA), exploring the complex relationship between neurodegenerative diseases and the coordination of motor systems during speech production.

Emily Cheang is a researcher in the Kao Lab at the Memory and Aging Center, where she contributes to advancing neuroscience and neurobiology research. Her work focuses on understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying brain health and disease.

Crystal Yixin Luo serves as a data systems analyst for the Multitudes project, a groundbreaking digital platform and research system dedicated to advancing literacy outcomes and brain health. Luo plays a critical role in managing and analyzing complex data to drive the project’s mission in these areas.