Pathology

Yinyan Xu joined the Seeley Lab at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in September 2024 as a postdoctoral scientist. She completed her pre-med training at Tsinghua University and received a medical doctorate degree from Peking Union Medical College. She acquired her PhD degree from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford University, investigating the translational profile of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived motor neurons carrying the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion.

Kaan grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and finished medical school at Istanbul University. Following medical school, he pursued a research fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, where he focused on Alzheimer’s disease genetics, transcriptomics, and blood-based biomarkers with a focus on underrepresented minorities. He did his neurology residency at the University of Iowa, being one of the chief residents in his final year of training.

Dr. Luke Fischer (he/him) is a neurologist and neuroscientist specializing in Lewy body disease. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Michigan State University with dual degrees in philosophy and biochemistry and molecular biology. He went on to complete a dual MD/PhD program, earning his doctorate in neuroscience in Dr. Caryl E. Sortwell’s laboratory. As a trainee at the NINDS Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research, Dr.

Sevinç joined the Seeley Lab as a postdoctoral scholar in October 2023. She earned a BSc degree in molecular biology and genetics from Boğaziçi University in Turkey. She then moved to Germany, where she completed an MSc degree in developmental and stem cell biology at Heidelberg University. For her master’s thesis, she focused on establishing culture conditions for circulating tumor cells from breast cancer patients in the lab of Andreas Trumpp at the German Cancer Research Center.

Lily joined the Seeley Lab in September 2023 as a research associate, assisting with the brain bank, immunohistochemistry, and other technical work for various projects. She earned a BA in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley, in May 2023.

Sean Coulborn is a postdoctoral researcher at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, working under the mentorship of David Perry, MD. His research focuses on improving the certainty of clinical diagnoses and predicting pathological diagnoses in neurodegenerative diseases.

At the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, Antonia supports families through the brain donation process and serves as Dr. William Seeley’s administrative assistant. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior from UC Davis in 2021, where she participated in health-related internships and was an active member of clubs such as Alzheimer’s Buddies, the Pre-Dental Society, and Outdoor Crew.

Sarah Kaufman, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist dedicated to advancing our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on frontotemporal dementia and tauopathies. She earned her undergraduate degree in molecular and cell biology, with a focus on neuroscience, from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Kaufman then completed her MD and PhD through the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University in St. Louis, where her graduate research, conducted in Dr.

Maria joined the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center in February 2021 as administrative manager, providing operational, analytical, and administrative support to the Neurodegenerative Disease Brain Bank. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education with minors in mathematics and Spanish literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

Athena studied integrative biology and classics at the University of California, Berkeley. She participated in archaeological research and assisted with the excavation of a prehistoric cemetery in Greece. On campus, she volunteered as an EMT and worked as a chef for her housing cooperative. Her experiences volunteering in hospice and nursing facilities inspired her to join the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, where she assists patients, families, and caregivers with the autopsy program.