Orit Lesman Segev, MD, MMedSc, is a specialist at the UCSF Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, part of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. A neuroradiologist-scientist, Dr. Lesman Segev studies imaging biomarkers that can help researchers and clinicians better understand, diagnose, and monitor neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Lesman Segev’s research uses multiple types of brain imaging, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Her work includes FDG-PET, which measures patterns of brain metabolism, as well as amyloid PET and tau PET, which can detect proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. She studies these imaging measures across a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Dr. Lesman Segev also has clinical and research interests in treatments targeting amyloid and in amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), changes that can appear on brain scans in some people receiving these treatments. Her work aims to improve the use of imaging to monitor treatment safety and better understand treatment-related brain changes.
Through this research, Dr. Lesman Segev seeks to identify imaging biomarkers that can detect and characterize disease earlier and more accurately, ultimately helping improve diagnosis, disease staging, treatment monitoring, and clinical decision-making.