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.
Ranjani graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in cognitive science specializing in Clinical Aspects of Cognition. She is extremely interested in and passionate about neurodegenerative disease research, especially Alzheimer’s disease. She now works at the Memory and Aging Center in Dr. Rabinovici’s In Vivo Molecular Neuroimaging Lab.
Phil Smith was raised in Oakland, California where he graduated from Laney College with an associate degree in ethnic studies. He began working at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in 2014 with a primary focus on assisting the clinical staff with administrative support. As a caregiver for his mother who suffers from dementia, Phil has a direct connection to the impact of neurogenerative diseases and is passionate about providing support for the family members of patients that are battling dementia.
Ms. Smith is the clinical research supervisor working directly with the Rabinovici Lab and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She works closely with both faculty and staff in monitoring operational issues, regulatory compliance and project development. Ms. Smith brings many years of experience in clinical and non-clinical trials across a variety of funding mechanisms and disciplines. Prior to coming to the Memory and Aging Center in April 2019, Ms.
Fonda Smith has a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice and a passion for social justice. Born and raised in San Francisco, Fonda grew up in poverty and was impacted by the social justice issues such as mass incarceration and gentrification that continuously plague under-served communities of color. She began working in the nonprofit sector at a very early age to empower communities of color and help those in need. She immediately made it her life’s mission to uplift and amplify the voices of those in underserved communities, advocating for positive social justice for all.
Dr. Spina received his medical degree from the University of Catania, Italy. He completed a neurology residency at the University of Siena, Italy from which he also obtained his doctorate degree on mechanisms of neurodegeneration. He was trained in neuropathology of dementia syndromes at the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, Indianapolis in the laboratory of Dr. Bernardino Ghetti. Later, he completed an internship in internal medicine and a neurology residency at Indiana University. Dr.
Dr. Staffaroni is a neuropsychologist at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. He provides clinical neuropsychological assessments, and his research focuses on predicting disease progression and improving endpoints for clinical trials in neurodegenerative diseases. He obtained a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University, with an emphasis in neuropsychology. He completed a clinical internship at the West Los Angeles VA Health Care System and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.
Virginia Sturm, PhD, is the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Endowed Professor at UCSF. She is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and the director of the Clinical Affective Neuroscience (CAN) Laboratory that is located in the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and affiliated with the UCSF Center for Psychophysiology and Behavior (CPB).
