staff

Malu Mandelli, PhD

Associate Adjunct Professor

Maria Luisa Mandelli, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, where she leads the imaging program of the language team (ALBA Lab).

Wing Hung Lee

Staff Research Associate

Wenda joined the Memory and Aging Center in March 2015 to support efforts in researching brain aging and associated disorders. Prior to moving to the United States in 2014, Wenda worked as an executive assistant in a private company in Hong Kong for 19 years, assisting in the overall management and operation of the company. Wenda supports and manages the administrative needs in the pathology labs. She intends to continue working in the field of medical research, particularly in the specialty of brain disease.

Serggio Lanata, MD, MS

Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology

Serggio Lanata, MD, MS, is a neurologist and clinical researcher dedicated to advancing brain health and improving care for individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia. He serves as the director of the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center Community Outreach Program, which works to educate medically, economically, and educationally disadvantaged populations about brain health and dementia and encourages participation in clinical research.

Renaud La Joie, PhD

Assistant Professor

Renaud La Joie, PhD, is the Edward and Pearl Fein Endowed Professor in Precision Care for Memory Disorders at UCSF. He is a neuroscientist and neuroimaging expert whose research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Using advanced brain imaging techniques, fluid biomarkers, and neuropsychological measures, Dr. La Joie seeks to unravel the drivers of clinical heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Rose George

Director, Technical Operations

Rose George is a product manager and oversees the building of solutions and systems to support the Memory and Aging Center’s goal of providing model care for patients and their families, finding innovative ways to understand and hopefully cure these neurodegenerative diseases, and reaching out to the wider community to raise awareness about these diseases of aging.

Before joining the MAC, George worked in Silicon Valley, successfully launching and growing hardware and software products. She also brings extensive expertise in program and integration management.

Salvatore Spina, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

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.

Joe Hesse

Director of Innovation

Joe Hesse joined the Memory and Aging Center in 2002 and serves as the center’s Director of Innovation. His focus is the development of informatics and computational infrastructure in support of precision medicine. He works in collaboration with many groups and faculty across UCSF with the overall goal of delivering technology solutions to clinicians and researchers that are both scientifically agile and regulatory compliant.

Sarah Dulaney, RN, MS, CNS

Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Sarah Dulaney earned a Master of Science degree in gerontological nursing at UCSF and is certified as a Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Jessica de Leon, MD

Associate Professor

Jessica de Leon, MD, is an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Neurology at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences and a clinician-researcher at the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. She serves as the lead and founder of the Fein Memory and Aging Center Filipino outreach program. Dr.