Clinical Trials

Eden received a BS degree in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine and a PhD in Neuroscience from UC Davis. Her doctoral work broadly focused on learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity. Now, as a member of the Boxer Lab, she is interested in facilitating more equitable and inclusive research of neurodegenerative disorders.

Rituja Bhowmik earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and metabolic biology from UC Berkeley in May 2025. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted wet-lab research and developed a passion for basic science, culminating in an honors thesis on transcription in the human placenta. She is dedicated to community health and previously worked as a bilingual community health worker, serving various patient populations in the East Bay, including at Highland Hospital.

Betsy Boyce serves as research administrative coordinator, providing administrative support to Hilary Heuer, PhD, for the ARTFL-LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (ALLFTD) study, a multicenter research initiative advancing the understanding of frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Nhật Bùi earned her master’s degree in nursing at UCSF in 2016. She is certified as an adult-gerontology nurse practitioner by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). At the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, Nhật assists with the Alzheimer’s Dementia Research Center and clinical trial projects by conducting patient assessments and caregiver interviews for observational research studies and clinical drug trials.

Dr. Dietz is originally from Penticton, British Columbia. He studied physiology and physics at McGill University in Montreal, where his research focused on characterizing candidate mechanosensitive ion channels using single-cell electrophysiology techniques. While at McGill, he became interested in neurology, neuropsychology, and brain-behavior relationships after reading the classic works of Drs. Wilder Penfield and Brenda Milner at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Maya earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in molecular and cell biology with a concentration in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has joined the clinical trials team at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and plans to pursue a career in healthcare, specializing in neurology.

In her free time, Maya enjoys running, camping, and spending time outdoors.

Brianna has joined the Boxer Trials team as an assistant clinical research coordinator. She graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2022 and is originally from Orange County, California. Brianna brings valuable experience in neuroscience research, including studying the mechanisms underlying sleep in zebrafish, and previously worked at Genentech in the Protein Analytical Chemistry department. She is excited to be part of the clinical trials team at the Memory and Aging Center, where she aims to help advance access to treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Alex earned his degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where he specialized in the epidemiology of chronic diseases. He is passionate about advancing health care literacy and empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their well-being.

Outside of work, Alex enjoys running around Lake Merritt in Oakland, exploring new music, and hiking and camping in the great outdoors.