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.
Julio Rojas is a neurologist who specializes in dementia, caring for patients with cognitive difficulties or behavioral changes resulting from conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia (a form of dementia that causes cognitive defects and Parkinson’s-like symptoms), frontotemporal dementia (a common cause of dementia in younger adults that features behavioral changes) and progressive supranuclear pa
David is a Staff Research Associate at the ALBA Lab working under Dr. Jet Vonk on dementia research. He graduated from Columbia University with a BA degree in computer science and has previously worked at the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center. His work focuses on generating new automated methods for analyzing verbal fluency across different languages.
Dr. Rosen is a behavioral neurologist and holds the Dorothy Kirsten French Foundation Endowed Professorship for Parkinsonian and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders. He received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, trained in internal medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and subsequently completed a neurology residency at UCSF. After residency, Dr. Rosen pursued fellowship training in brain imaging at the Washington University School of Medicine, and then returned to UCSF to join the team at the Memory and Aging Center (MAC) in 1999.
Ashlin earned his bachelor of science degree in psychology at the University of Oregon in 2016. As an undergraduate, he assisted in several labs that study the neurobiological basis of behavior. After graduating, Ashlin worked as a lab manager at the University of Massachusetts Boston for Dr. Keith Welker and Dr. Rhiana Wegner. Currently, Ashlin is a data analyst at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center for Dr. Virginia Sturm and Dr. David Perry.
Dr. Saloner is a scientist-practitioner and Assistant Professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. His research integrates deep molecular screening tools, including large-scale proteomics platforms and targeted biomarker assays, with longitudinal clinical phenotyping to discover molecular pathways and biomarker candidates that drive the earliest clinical manifestations of neurodegenerative disease. Dr.
Dr. Sampognaro majored in neurobiology as an undergrad at Georgetown University. There, he worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Maria Donoghue, studying the molecular underpinnings of Eph/ephrin signaling and its role in cortical neuronal development. After college, he matriculated to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he earned his MD and worked part-time in Charlotte Sumner’s laboratory, quantifying the degree of SMN1 insufficiency in humans with spinal muscular atrophy.
At the Memory and Aging Center, Antonia assists families with the brain donation process and acts as Dr. William Seeley’s administrative assistant. She graduated in 2021 from UC Davis with a BS degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. She participated in health-related internships and was a member of several clubs such as Alzheimer’s Buddies, Pre-Dental Society, and Outdoor Crew.
Dr. Satpati received his Master of Science (Zoology) and PhD (Zoology) degrees from Bangalore University, India. His PhD thesis was on the neuroprotective potential of endurance exercise and grape seed polyphenols, emphasizing the role of oxidative stress-associated changes in the expression of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor (m1) across different subfields of the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex in aging rats. He is particularly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with selective neuronal vulnerability.
Ariel joined the Yokoyama Lab at the Memory and Aging Center in February 2024 as a Staff Research Associate. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English and in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Ariel has experience assisting with research into the effects of environmental air pollution on neurodegenerative disease, as well as working in a clinical pathology setting; she is interested in learning more about neurogenetics.
