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.
Gloria Aguirre is an artist and community advocate who joined the Memory and Aging Center in 2019. She is an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity based at George Washington University in Washington D.C. and serves as Artistic Director of Creative Minds, the San Francisco community arts for brain health initiative, and Community Engagement Manager for the Community Outreach Program at the MAC.
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 studies of remote digital data collection in frontotemporal dementia using smartphone assessments and sensor technologies.
Christina Veziris is an assistant clinical research coordinator in the UCSF Clinical Affective Neuroscience (CAN) Lab. She graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minors in neuroscience and health studies. She volunteered in the CAN lab for a year and then worked in the Relationships, Emotions, and Health Lab at San Francisco State University for three years using the Facial Action Coding System to code facial emotions.
Bettina Pedemonte completed a PhD degree in mathematics in Italy at Genoa University and a PhD degree in mathematics education in France at Grenoble University. She has experience in teaching mathematics, in particular to students with learning disorders. She designed technological environments to support mathematical learning. Her research interests include understanding cognitive processes involved in solving mathematical problems and finding new teaching methods to support mathematical learning. Bettina joined UCSF in March 2018, specializing in designing a battery for dyscalculia.
As an Assistant Professor of Neurology at UCSF, Dr. Lawren Vandevrede's overarching goal is to provide outstanding clinical care to patients with dementia and their caregivers. He completed his medical training in Chicago, where he also obtained a PhD degree in neuroscience working with his mentor to develop novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Nathaniel comes from Marin County and graduated from Stanford in 2018 with a degree in psychology. At Stanford he worked as a research assistant in Dr. James Gross’ lab studying the regulation of emotions in groups as well as the emotional dynamics between group members. Nathaniel also studied the effects of depression and anxiety on brain structures. At the Memory and Aging Center, he is a research coordinator in the Clinical Affective Neuroscience (CAN) Laboratory, led by Dr. Virginia Sturm.
Kevin was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He attended UC Davis and graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in neurobiology, physiology and behavior and a bachelors’ of arts degree in psychology. Before joining the Memory and Aging Center, Kevin volunteered at On Lok Lifeways and interacted with Chinese elders in Chinatown. He is currently a research coordinator for the UCSF Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He coordinates visits for the Cantonese- and English-speaking Chinese participants.
Sarat Vatsavayai received a master of science degree in Human Genetics from Andhra University, India. He then did his doctoral work in the field of Huntington’s disease at the Open University, UK, where he was characterizing a novel mouse model and was trying to find out if DNA repeat instability could modify disease progression. In July 2013, he joined Dr.
Dr. Sampognaro majored in neurobiology as an undergrad at Georgetown University. There, he worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Maria Donoghue, studying the molecular underpinnings of Eph/ephrin signaling and its role in cortical neuronal development. After college, he matriculated to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he earned his MD and worked part-time in Charlotte Sumner’s laboratory, quantifying the degree of SMN1 insufficiency in humans with spinal muscular atrophy.
