Meet the Team

Jessica de Leon, MD, is an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Neurology at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences and a clinician-researcher at the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. She serves as the lead and founder of the Fein Memory and Aging Center Filipino outreach program. Dr.

Aura leads the Pilot Awards Program at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) and supports other regional impact efforts during the fellowship year and beyond. She works closely with the mentorship team and contributes to projects related to leadership development, with a particular emphasis on program integration.

Mary De May, MD, is the Hellman Master Clinician and Hellman Family Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. A compassionate and dedicated physician, Dr. De May has been part of the Fein Memory and Aging Center since 2000, providing exceptional clinical care and professional mentorship in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Kaan grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and finished medical school at Istanbul University. Following medical school, he pursued a research fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, where he focused on Alzheimer’s disease genetics, transcriptomics, and blood-based biomarkers with a focus on underrepresented minorities. He did his neurology residency at the University of Iowa, being one of the chief residents in his final year of training.

Nikhil joined the Seeley Lab at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in December 2023 as a Specialist. After completing his MSc degree in Neuroscience, Nikhil’s career has focused on developing digital solutions in diverse life-science environments, including academia (Columbia University), large corporations (Abbott Labs), and biomedical startups. Nikhil left Abbott in 2022 after 17 years; one of his accomplishments was leading the software organization that created the mobile app for the blockbuster FreeStyle Libre product.

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 a 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.

Valentina joined Dr. Joel Kramer’s lab as a research coordinator in September of 2021 and works primarily on the Healthy Brain Aging study as well as the Mechanisms of Executive Decline study. She graduated with a BA degree in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley in May of 2021 and has interests in neurodegenerative disorders with plans of becoming a neurosurgeon.

Dr. Dietz is originally from Penticton, British Columbia. He studied physiology and physics at McGill University in Montreal, where his research focused on characterizing candidate mechanosensitive ion channels using single-cell electrophysiology techniques. While at McGill, he became interested in neurology, neuropsychology, and brain-behavior relationships after reading the classic works of Drs. Wilder Penfield and Brenda Milner at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Joyce joined the Memory and Aging Center as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator for the frontotemporal dementia research team on the Frontotemporal Dementia: Genes, Images and Emotions study. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a bachelor's degree in psychology and human development.

Maya earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular and cell biology with a concentration in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has joined the clinical trials team at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and plans to pursue a career in healthcare, specializing in neurology.

In her free time, Maya enjoys running, camping, and spending time outdoors.