Peter Ljubenkov, MD

Assistant Professor
+1 415 476-6880
Fields of Interest: 
Clinical Trials
Professional Education

Dr. Peter A. Ljubenkov is a behavioral neurologist at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and specializes in caring for patients experiencing memory, language and behavioral changes due to neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and other causes of dementia. He has special expertise in diagnosing and treating frontotemporal dementia (a group of neurodegenerative diseases that affect the frontal and temporal lobes) and related conditions, including progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration. Ljubenkov also serves as the associate fellowship director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center's Behavioral Neurology Training Program Fellowship (BNTP), a program that trains doctors for careers in research and clinical care involving patients with dementia. In research, Ljubenkov is active in clinical therapeutic trials, studies enrolling human participants to explore new potential treatments for patients with dementia.

Ljubenkov earned his medical degree at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. He completed a residency in neurology at the University of California, San Diego, followed by a fellowship in behavioral neurology at UCSF.

Publications: 

Symptomatic amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in an APOE e4/e4 patient treated with aducanumab.

Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

VandeVrede L, Gibbs DM, Koestler M, La Joie R, Ljubenkov PA, Provost K, Soleimani-Meigooni D, Strom A, Tsoy E, Rabinovici GD, Boxer AL

Four-Repeat Tauopathies: Current Management and Future Treatments.

Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics

VandeVrede L, Ljubenkov PA, Rojas JC, Welch AE, Boxer AL

Open-Label Phase 1 Futility Studies of Salsalate and Young Plasma in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Movement disorders clinical practice

VandeVrede L, Dale ML, Fields S, Frank M, Hare E, Heuer HW, Keith K, Koestler M, Ljubenkov PA, McDermott D, Ohanesian N, Richards J, Rojas JC, Thijssen EH, Walsh C, Wang P, Wolf A, Quinn JF, Tsai R, Boxer AL

Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Features Between Adults With Tuberous Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia.

JAMA neurology

Liu AJ, Staffaroni AM, Rojas-Martinez JC, Olney NT, Alquezar-Burillo C, Ljubenkov PA, La Joie R, Fong JC, Taylor J, Karydas A, Ramos EM, Coppola G, Boxer AL, Rabinovici GD, Miller BL, Kao AW

Reactions to Multiple Ascending Doses of the Microtubule Stabilizer TPI-287 in Patients With Alzheimer Disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and Corticobasal Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

JAMA neurology

Tsai RM, Miller Z, Koestler M, Rojas JC, Ljubenkov PA, Rosen HJ, Rabinovici GD, Fagan AM, Cobigo Y, Brown JA, Jung JI, Hare E, Geldmacher DS, Natelson-Love M, McKinley EC, Luong PN, Chuu EL, Powers R, Mumford P, Wolf A, Wang P, Shamloo M, Miller BL, Roberson ED, Boxer AL

Clinical and volumetric changes with increasing functional impairment in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Olney NT, Ong E, Goh SM, Bajorek L, Dever R, Staffaroni AM, Cobigo Y, Bock M, Chiang K, Ljubenkov P, Kornak J, Heuer HW, Wang P, Rascovsky K, Wolf A, Appleby B, Bove J, Bordelon Y, Brannelly P, Brushaber D, Caso C, Coppola G, Dickerson BC, Dickinson S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Ferrall J, Fields J, Fishman A, Fong J, Foroud T, Forsberg LK, Gearhart DJ, Ghazanfari B, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford NR, Grant I, Grossman M, Haley D, Hsiung G, Huey ED, Irwin DJ, Jones DT, Kantarci K, Karydas AM, Kaufer D, Kerwin D, Knopman DS, Kramer JH, Kraft R, Kremers W, Kukull W, Lapid MI, Litvan I, Mackenzie IR, Maldonado M, Manoochehri M, McGinnis SM, McKinley EC, Mendez MF, Miller BL, Onyike C, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Rankin KP, Roberson ED, Rogalski E, Sengdy P, Shaw LM, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia MC, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski JQ, Weintraub S, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Boxer AL, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ

Individualized atrophy scores predict dementia onset in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Staffaroni AM, Cobigo Y, Goh SM, Kornak J, Bajorek L, Chiang K, Appleby B, Bove J, Bordelon Y, Brannelly P, Brushaber D, Caso C, Coppola G, Dever R, Dheel C, Dickerson BC, Dickinson S, Dominguez S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Ferrall J, Fields JA, Fishman A, Fong J, Foroud T, Forsberg LK, Gavrilova R, Gearhart D, Ghazanfari B, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford N, Grant I, Grossman M, Haley D, Heuer HW, Hsiung GY, Huey ED, Irwin DJ, Jones DT, Jones L, Kantarci K, Karydas A, Kaufer DI, Kerwin DR, Knopman DS, Kraft R, Kramer JH, Kremers WK, Kukull WA, Litvan I, Ljubenkov PA, Lucente D, Lungu C, Mackenzie IR, Maldonado M, Manoochehri M, McGinnis SM, McKinley E, Mendez MF, Miller BL, Multani N, Onyike C, Padmanabhan J, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Rankin KP, Rascovsky K, Roberson ED, Rogalski E, Sengdy P, Shaw LM, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia MC, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski JQ, Weintraub S, Wang P, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Boxer AL, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ

Assessment of executive function declines in presymptomatic and mildly symptomatic familial frontotemporal dementia: NIH-EXAMINER as a potential clinical trial endpoint.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Staffaroni AM, Bajorek L, Casaletto KB, Cobigo Y, Goh SM, Wolf A, Heuer HW, Elahi FM, Ljubenkov PA, Dever R, Kornak J, Appleby B, Bove J, Bordelon Y, Brannelly P, Brushaber D, Caso C, Coppola G, Dheel C, Dickerson BC, Dickinson S, Dominguez S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Ferrall J, Fields JA, Fishman A, Fong J, Foroud T, Forsberg LK, Gavrilova R, Gearhart D, Ghazanfari B, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford N, Grant I, Grossman M, Haley D, Hsiung GY, Huey ED, Irwin DJ, Jones DT, Jones L, Kantarci K, Karydas A, Kaufer DI, Kerwin DR, Knopman DS, Kraft R, Kremers WK, Kukull WA, Litvan I, Lucente D, Lungu C, Mackenzie IR, Maldonado M, Manoochehri M, McGinnis SM, McKinley E, Mendez MF, Miller BL, Multani N, Onyike C, Padmanabhan J, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Rankin KP, Rascovsky K, Roberson ED, Rogalski E, Sengdy P, Shaw LM, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia MC, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski JQ, Weintraub S, Wang P, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Boxer AL, Boeve BF, Kramer JH, Rosen HJ

Comparison of sporadic and familial behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in a North American cohort.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Heuer HW, Wang P, Rascovsky K, Wolf A, Appleby B, Bove J, Bordelon Y, Brannelly P, Brushaber DE, Caso C, Coppola G, Dickerson B, Dickinson S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Ferrall J, Fields J, Fishman A, Fong J, Foroud T, Forsberg LK, Gearhart D, Ghazanfari B, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford N, Grant I, Grossman M, Haley D, Hsiung GY, Huey E, Irwin D, Jones D, Kantarci K, Karydas A, Kaufer D, Kerwin D, Knopman D, Kornak J, Kramer JH, Kraft R, Kremers WK, Kukull W, Litvan I, Ljubenkov P, Mackenzie IR, Maldonado M, Manoochehri M, McGinnis S, McKinley E, Mendez MF, Miller BL, Onyike C, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Rankin KP, Roberson ED, Rogalski E, Sengdy P, Shaw L, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia MC, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski J, Weintraub S, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ, Boxer AL

Genetic screening of a large series of North American sporadic and familial frontotemporal dementia cases.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association

Ramos EM, Dokuru DR, Van Berlo V, Wojta K, Wang Q, Huang AY, Deverasetty S, Qin Y, van Blitterswijk M, Jackson J, Appleby B, Bordelon Y, Brannelly P, Brushaber DE, Dickerson B, Dickinson S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Fields J, Fong J, Foroud T, Forsberg LK, Gavrilova R, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford N, Grant I, Grossman M, Heuer HW, Hsiung GR, Huey E, Irwin D, Kantarci K, Karydas A, Kaufer D, Kerwin D, Knopman D, Kornak J, Kramer JH, Kremers W, Kukull W, Litvan I, Ljubenkov P, Lungu C, Mackenzie I, Mendez MF, Miller BL, Onyike C, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rankin KP, Rascovsky K, Roberson ED, Rogalski E, Shaw L, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia MC, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski JQ, Weintraub S, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Rademakers R, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ, Boxer AL, Coppola G

Nonlinear Z-score modeling for improved detection of cognitive abnormality.

Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Kornak J, Fields J, Kremers W, Farmer S, Heuer HW, Forsberg L, Brushaber D, Rindels A, Dodge H, Weintraub S, Besser L, Appleby B, Bordelon Y, Bove J, Brannelly P, Caso C, Coppola G, Dever R, Dheel C, Dickerson B, Dickinson S, Dominguez S, Domoto-Reilly K, Faber K, Ferrall J, Fishman A, Fong J, Foroud T, Gavrilova R, Gearhart D, Ghazanfari B, Ghoshal N, Goldman J, Graff-Radford J, Graff-Radford N, Grant IM, Grossman M, Haley D, Hsiao J, Hsiung R, Huey ED, Irwin D, Jones D, Jones L, Kantarci K, Karydas A, Kaufer D, Kerwin D, Knopman D, Kraft R, Kramer J, Kukull W, Lapid M, Litvan I, Ljubenkov P, Lucente D, Lungu C, Mackenzie I, Maldonado M, Manoochehri M, McGinnis S, McKinley E, Mendez M, Miller B, Multani N, Onyike C, Padmanabhan J, Pantelyat A, Pearlman R, Petrucelli L, Potter M, Rademakers R, Ramos EM, Rankin K, Rascovsky K, Roberson ED, Rogalski-Miller E, Sengdy P, Shaw L, Staffaroni AM, Sutherland M, Syrjanen J, Tartaglia C, Tatton N, Taylor J, Toga A, Trojanowski J, Wang P, Wong B, Wszolek Z, Boeve B, Boxer A, Rosen H

Peripheral Innate Immune Activation Correlates With Disease Severity in GRN Haploinsufficiency.

Frontiers in neurology

Ljubenkov PA, Miller Z, Mumford P, Zhang J, Allen IE, Mitic L, Staffaroni A, Heuer H, Rojas JC, Cobigo Y, Karydas A, Pearlman R, Miller B, Kramer JH, McGrath MS, Rosen HJ, Boxer AL

FRONTOTEMPORAL LOBAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH IN NORTH AMERICA: PROGRESS IN THE ARTFL/LEFFTDS CONSORTIA.

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Hilary W. Heuer, Adam L. Boxer, Bradley F. Boeve, Howard J. Rosen, Leah K. Forsberg, Danielle Brushaber, Brian Appleby, Yvette M. Bordelon, Patrick Brannelly, Giovanni Coppola, Brad C. Dickerson, Susan Dickinson, Domoto-Reilly Kimiko, Kelley Faber, Julie A. Fields, Jamie Fong, Tatiana M. Foroud, Ralitza H. Gavrilova, Nupur Ghoshal, Jill Goldman, Jonathan Graff-Radford, Neil R. Graff-Radford, Ian Grant, Murray Grossman, John Hsiao, Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung, Edward Huey, David Irwin, Kejal Kantarci, Anna M. Karydas, Daniel Kaufer, Diana R. Kerwin, David S. Knopman, Joel H. Kramer, Walter K. Kremers, Walter A. Kukull, Irene Litvan, Peter A. Ljubenkov, Diane E. Lucente, Codrin Lungu, Ian R. Mackenzie, Scott M. McGinnis, Mario F. Mendez, Bruce L. Miller, Chiadi U. Onyike, Alex Pantelyat, Rodney Pearlman, Leonard Petrucelli, Rosa Rademakers, Eliana Marisa Ramos, Katherine Rankin, Katya Rascovsky, Erik D. Roberson, Emily J. Rogalski, Leslie M. Shaw, Margaret Sutherland, Jeremy Syrjanen, Carmela Tartaglia, Nadine Tatton, Joanne Taylor, Arthur W. Toga, Sandra Weintraub, Bonnie Wong, Zbigniew Wszolek, ARTFL and LEFFTDS Consortia

THE MULTIDOMAIN IMPAIRMENT RATING (MIR) SCALE: INITIAL RELIABILITY DATA ON A MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALE DESIGNED FOR FTLD SPECTRUM DISORDERS.

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Leah K. Forsberg, Bradley F. Boeve, Adam L. Boxer, Howard J. Rosen, John Kornak, Hilary W. Heuer, Julie A. Fields, Danielle Brushaber, Mary M. Machulda, Virginia Sturm, Adam M. Staffaroni, Peter A. Ljubenkov, Reilly Denver, Elise Ong, Brian Appleby, Yvette M. Bordelon, Patrick Brannelly, Giovanni Coppola, Brad C. Dickerson, Susan Dickinson, Domoto-Reilly Kimiko, Kelley Faber, Jamie Fong, Tatiana M. Foroud, Ralitza H. Gavrilova, Debra Gearhart, Nupur Ghoshal, Jill Goldman, Jonathan Graff-Radford, Neil R. Graff-Radford, Murray Grossman, Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung, Edward D. Huey, David Irwin, David T. Jones, Kejal Kantarci, Anna M. Karydas, Daniel Kaufer, Diana R. Kerwin, David S. Knopman, Ruth A. Kraft, Joel H. Kramer, Walter K. Kremers, Walter A. Kukull, Irene Litvan, Diane E. Lucente, Codrin Lungu, Ian R. Mackenzie, Scott M. McGinnis, Mario F. Mendez, Bruce L. Miller, Chiadi U. Onyike, Alex Pantelyat, Rodney Pearlman, Leonard Petrucelli, Madeline Potter, Rosa Rademakers, Eliana Marisa Ramos, Katherine Rankin, Katya Rascovsky, Erik D. Roberson, Emily J. Rogalski, Leslie M. Shaw, Marg Sutherland, Jeremy Syrjanen, Carmela Tartaglia, Nadine Tatton, Joanne Taylor, Arthur W. Toga, John Q. Trojanowski, Sandra Weintraub, Bonnie Wong, Zbigniew Wszolek

Longitudinal multimodal imaging and clinical endpoints for frontotemporal dementia clinical trials.

Brain : a journal of neurology

Staffaroni AM, Ljubenkov PA, Kornak J, Cobigo Y, Datta S, Marx G, Walters SM, Chiang K, Olney N, Elahi FM, Knopman DS, Dickerson BC, Boeve BF, Gorno-Tempini ML, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Seeley WW, Miller BL, Kramer JH, Boxer AL, Rosen HJ

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers predict frontotemporal dementia trajectory.

Annals of clinical and translational neurology

Ljubenkov PA, Staffaroni AM, Rojas JC, Allen IE, Wang P, Heuer H, Karydas A, Kornak J, Cobigo Y, Seeley WW, Grinberg LT, Spina S, Fagan AM, Jerome G, Knopman D, Boeve BF, Dickerson BC, Kramer J, Miller B, Boxer AL, Rosen HJ

THE NIH-EXAMINER IS SENSITIVE TO COGNITIVE CHANGES IN ASYMPTOMATIC AND MILDLY SYMPTOMATIC FAMILIAL FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA.

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Adam M. Staffaroni, Lynn Bajorek, Peter Ljubenkov, Kaitlin Casaletto, Fanny Elahi, Katya Rascovsky, Bradley F. Boeve, Adam L. Boxer, Jessica Bove, Danielle Brushaber, Giovanni Coppola, Christina Dheel, Brad C. Dickerson, Julie A. Fields, Jamie Fong, Leah K. Forsberg, Ralitza H. Gavrilova, Debra Gearhart, Nupur Ghoshal, Jill Goldman, Jonathan Graff Radford, Neill R. Graff-Radford, Murray Grossman, Dana Haley, Hilary W. Heuer, John Hsiao, Ging-Yuek Robin Hsiung, Edward Huey, David J. Irwin, David T. Jones, Lynne Jones, Kejal Kantarci, Anna M. Karydas, David S. Knopman, John Kornak, Walter K. Kremers, Walter A. Kukull, Maria I. Lapid, Diane Lucente, Ian R. Mackenzie, Masood Manoochehri, Bruce L. Miller, Madeline Potter, Rosa Rademakers, Katherine Rankin, Margaret Sutherland, Jeremy Syrjanen, Joanne Taylor, Sandra Weintraub, Bonnie Wong, Zbigniew Wszolek, Howard J. Rosen, Joel H. Kramer, ARTFL/LEFFTDS Consortium

A Clinical Guide to Frontotemporal Dementias.

Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing)

Ljubenkov PA, Miller BL

Dementia.

Seminars in neurology

Ljubenkov PA, Geschwind MD