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.
Jet Vonk received her PhD degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the City University of New York Graduate Center, with a focus on neurolinguistics and cognitive science. She also maintains an affiliation with the Department of Epidemiology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where she is currently obtaining a second PhD in Epidemiology.
Anil Vora joined the Memory and Aging Center in December 2022 as the Executive Analyst. He is responsible for managing Dr. Bruce Miller’s schedule, travel, research collaborations and other advanced administrative objectives related to the executive office. He also partners with the center’s six leadership committees acting as a primary resource for committee operations and strategic priorities.
Christine M. Walsh, PhD, received her BA degree in physiology from Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin in Ireland. Dr. Walsh did her doctoral work at the University of Michigan studying the effects of REM sleep modulation on learning and memory. She also studied the neural correlates of cognitive aging. In 2011 Dr. Walsh joined the UCSF Memory and Aging Center where she has been studying sleep in both healthy older adults and in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Walsh is particularly interested in the contribution of sleep disturbance to cognitive decline.
Cathy earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University in New York. Her extensive knowledge about social service systems is based on her work experience at the local, state and federal level. She was a consultant, training social workers in nursing homes to maintain state licensure. Cathy is also a registered yoga teacher and a Grief Recovery Specialist.
Wei-Ming Watson, PhD, is a queer, Chinese-Swedish American neuropsychology fellow at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. She is focused on providing culturally-informed neuropsychological care to diverse adults with cognitive disorders, in particular LGBTQIA+ individuals. Her research investigates how experiences of social adversity influence cognition and daily functioning in marginalized communities. She also examines the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids in pro-inflammatory diseases.
Liz graduated in December 2016 from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a BA degree in psychology and neuroscience. She has a background in collecting and analyzing electroencephalogram data and working in a clinical setting with all age groups. Liz joined the ALBA Language Neurobiology Lab in May 2018 and is working as a research coordinator for Dr. Maria Luisa Gorno Tempini.
Fattin Wekselman received her BS degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Syiah Kuala in Indonesia. Following the 2004 tsunami, she joined the United Nations World Food Program and other NGOs to reunite families, organize the feeding of displaced people, train teachers and mothers, and assist families in rebuilding their independence. She has also worked with the French Engineering Consulting Firm SOGREAH, and in Sepon, Laos as the Sustainability and Community Development Manager at one of the largest gold and copper mines.
Lily was born and raised in Lanzhou, China. She attended the University of California, San Diego and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Design and Interaction and a Bachelor of Science degree in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN). At UCSF Memory and Aging Center, she works as a Clinical Research Coordinator who coordinates Mandarin-speaking participants.
Aya Williams is a clinical psychologist and a postdoctoral scholar at the UCSF Dyslexia Center. She is passionate about research on bilingualism and using language as a tool to understand, manage and communicate emotions. She also provides clinical services to families at the Dyslexia Center in collaboration with the Intensive Family Therapy Program. She received her BA degree in Linguistics and Psychology at Stanford University and her PhD degree in Clinical Psychology at UC Berkeley.
Charles Windon, MD, is an assistant professor of clinical neurology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. In this role, he participates in the clinical care of those with neurodegenerative disease and also participates in the research evaluations of those referred to the Memory and Aging Center with a multitude of neurological conditions. Charles is also involved in the community outreach program at the MAC, with a particular interest in outreach to underserved communities, especially the African American community within the San Francisco Bay Area.
Amy graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2020, where she majored in Molecular & Cellular Biology – Neurobiology and minored in Interdisciplinary Human Rights. Throughout her time at Cal, Amy completed an independent research project on the effects of individualized music on symptoms of agitation in persons with Alzheimer’s disease.
