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. de Leon specializes in the care of patients with cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and primary progressive aphasia (PPA). She also evaluates participants through the UCSF Dyslexia Center and provides care for patients at the Geriatrics Neurology Center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she is dedicated to serving medically and economically disadvantaged communities.
The goals of Dr. de Leon’s research program are to improve brain health and to advance the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in communities of different backgrounds. In particular, her current research focuses on 1) the role of bilingualism in cognitive resilience, 2) the development of cognitive batteries for speakers of diverse languages, and 3) the identification of dementia risk factors in the Filipino American community.
Dr. de Leon earned her undergraduate degrees in neuroscience and Spanish from Johns Hopkins University before completing her MD with a thesis at UCSF. She completed her medical internship and neurology residency at UCSF, where she served as chief resident. As both a clinician and researcher, Dr. de Leon is committed to advancing and sustaining opportunity for all through her work with patients and her research on cognitive health and resilience.