Genetics

People who primarily investigate genes and inheritance patterns, counsel people about genetic testing and/or collect genetic specimens.

Ethan Geier

Ethan Geier, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Ethan is a postdoctoral scholar at the Memory and Aging Center interested in understanding how genetic variation contributes to the development of neurodegenerative disease. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cell biology and earned a PhD in 2013 from the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, in the laboratory of Dr. Kathleen M. Giacomini.

Greg Mohl

Gregory Mohl, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Greg received his bachelor's degree in Microbiology from Brigham Young University where he developed a new class of influenza inhibitors. He completed his PhD degree at UCSF in Martin Kampmann's Lab. In the Kampmann lab, he studied how the V337M tau mutation perturbs differentiating iPSC-derived neurons. Greg works with the Clelland Lab at the Memory and Aging Center to develop new methods for screening nanoparticle delivery of gene editing therapies.  

Liya Rabkina, MSc

Genetic Counselor

Liya Rabkina is a licensed and board-certified genetic counselor at the Memory and Aging Center. She graduated from Northwestern University's master’s program in genetic counseling in 2020 and became board-certified later that same year. In 2024, Liya finished a research fellowship through a collaboration between Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania, while also earning a master's certificate focused on advancing research training for genetic counselors. She has experience in oncology and preimplantation genetic testing (infertility genetics).

San-Hae Im

San-Hae Im, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

San-Hae is a postdoctoral researcher at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center under the mentorship of Dr. Claire Clelland. His research focuses on developing delivery systems for CRISPR-based therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Rowan Heffelfinger

Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator

Rowan graduated from Middlebury College in May 2024 with a major in Sociology and a minor in Global Health. She joined the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC) in June 2024 as a clinical research coordinator in the Dementia Imaging Genetics Lab led by Dr. Suzee Lee, where she coordinates a study investigating the neurodevelopment of children from families with a history of frontotemporal dementia or Alzheimer’s disease

Daniel Sirkis, PhD

Staff Scientist
Maison Abu Raya

Maison Abu Raya, MD

Specialist

Maison Abu Raya received her medical degree from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2014. Maison completed her neurology residency at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, Israel and passed the Israeli Neurology board exams with honors in 2019. She continued as an attending neurologist at the neurology department. In 2021, Maison joined the Stroke and Cognition Clinic at Rambam Health Care Campus as an attending physician and clinical fellow.

Ariel Sauri, BA

Staff Research Associate

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.

Taylor Young

Administrative Coordinator

Taylor is an Administrative Coordinator working under the MAC Genetics and Biospecimen manager. 

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