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.
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.
Rebecca Snell graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior with an emphasis in Neurobiology and a minor in Psychology. She works as part of the Clinical Trials Team with Dr. Adam Boxer.
Karin (“Kari”) joined the Boxer Lab’s Clinical Trials team as a Project Manager in 2023. A San Francisco native (born at UCSF!), she has managed intervention research for over 15 years, the last ten aiming to reduce stress in family caregivers of people with dementia.
Dr. David N. Soleimani-Meigooni is a neurologist who cares for patients experiencing cognitive symptoms as a result of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. He also directs the UCSF Memory and Aging Center's lumbar puncture service (this procedure obtains a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, which is analyzed to help diagnose certain neurological diseases).
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 clinical neuropsychologist and Associate Professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. His research focuses on improving early detection, prognosis, and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases through a combination of clinical tests, neuroimaging, and blood-based biomarkers. He leads two studies of remote digital data collection in frontotemporal dementia using smartphone assessments and sensor technologies.
