Meet the Team

Joanne Wu, BS

Clinical Research Coordinator

Joanne (Joe) Wu was born in Taishan, China, and moved to San Francisco at a young age. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human biology from the University of California, San Diego. As an undergraduate researcher in the Zheng Lab at UC San Diego School of Medicine, she focused on spinal cord regeneration in mouse models.

Matthew Wynn, MA

Clinical Neuropsychology Fellow

Matthew previously worked at the Memory and Aging Center coordinating the Longitudinal Brain Aging Program from 2013–2015 before leaving to pursue his PhD degree in Clinical Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. His research during graduate school focused on improving knowledge and awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. Matthew has returned to the Memory and Aging Center as a postdoctoral psychology fellow working with Dr.

Yinyan Xu, MD, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

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.

Kristine Yaffe, MD

Professor and Vice Chair

Kristine Yaffe, MD, is the Scola Endowed Chair and Leon Epstein Endowed Chair and Vice Chair, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology, and Director of the Center for Population Brain Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Professor Yaffe is dually trained in neurology and psychiatry and completed postdoctoral training in epidemiology and geriatric psychiatry, all at UCSF.

Stacey Yamamoto

Assistant Director for Program and Strategy, GBHI

As the Assistant Director for Programs and Strategy, Stacey oversees education and training at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) including recruitment and selection, curriculum, and monitoring and evaluation of the Atlantic Fellows Program. She oversees the administration of the Equity in Brain Health Certificate Program at UCSF as well as operational areas of international event management and communications.

Taylor Young

Administrative Coordinator

Taylor is an Administrative Coordinator working under the MAC Genetics and Biospecimen manager. 

Monica Zegers Larrain, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Mónica Zegers is a postdoctoral scholar at the UCSF Dyslexia Center. She obtained a BA degree in Psychology and a professional degree in Clinical Psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile. She earned her MA and PhD degrees in Human Development and Education at UC Berkeley.

Rayna Zhao, BA, MPhil

Clinical Research Coordinator

Rayna was born and raised in Shenzhen, China. She holds an MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge and dual BA degrees in English and Digital Media from the University of Rochester. At the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, she works as a clinical research coordinator in Dr. Tee’s lab, supporting study coordination and participant engagement for Chinese-speaking populations.