Director & Principal Investigator
Kristine Yaffe, MD
Professor Kristine Yaffe is the Scola Endowed Chair and the Epstein 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 an internationally recognized expert in the epidemiology of dementia and cognitive aging. She serves as PI of almost a dozen NIH, Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, and foundation grants and is a foremost leader in identifying modifiable risk factors for dementia that serve as a foundation for prevention. Dr. Yaffe and her colleagues were the first to determine that potentially 30-40% of dementia risk is preventable. She pioneered early investigations on the roles of estrogen, physical activity, and cardiovascular factors in dementia risk, and more recently, her research group has led work on the connections between Alzheimer disease and other dementias and traumatic brain injury, sleep disorders, and life course exposures. With over 800 peer-reviewed articles dedicated to improving population brain health (H-index=180), her work has formed the cornerstone for dementia prevention trials worldwide. Recently, she and her colleagues completed the first ever comprehensive risk reduction trial in the US and found important cognitive benefits for those who reduced their risk factors for dementia.
In recognition of these groundbreaking accomplishments. Dr. Yaffe has received several prestigious honors including the American Academy of Neurology’s Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Research in 2017, election to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019, the NIH Robert S. Gordon, Jr. Award in Epidemiology in 2021, and the Department of Veterans Affairs John B. Barnwell Award for Achievement in Clinical Research in 2022.
Research Team
Faculty
Shea Andrews, PhD is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry and a genetic epidemiologist investigating genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease (AD). He uses genetically informed causal inference methods to identify risk factors for AD and also researches the role of mitochondrial genetics in AD.
W. John Boscardin, PhD is a biostatistician with a joint appointment as Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UCSF. His areas of methodological expertise include analysis of longitudinal and repeated measures data, treatment of missing data, Bayesian statistical modeling, and computational statistics.
Willa Brenowitz, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. She is broadly interested understanding the role of multimorbidity in cognitive decline; her current research focuses on the relationship between sensory impairments (e.g. hearing and vision loss) and dementia in older adults.
Raquel Gardner, MD is an Associate Professor in Residence at UCSF in the Department of Neurology and a Staff Physician at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her research focuses on the epidemiology and mechanisms of long-term sequelae of traumatic brain injury in older adults, with the goal of improving outcomes in this vulnerable population.
Erica Kornblith, PhD is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry and a Staff Neuropsychologist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her research focuses on rehabilitating executive function in Veterans with TBI and polytrauma, identifying factors that impact response to cognitive rehabilitation, and using technology to increase access to treatment.
Yue Leng, PhD is an Associate Professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of sleep, particularly the relationship between sleep, cognition, and other health outcomes.
Affiliated Junior Faculty
Kaitlin Casaletto, PhD is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Casaletto’s work focuses on applying novel molecular fluid biomarkers to highlight relevant neurobiological pathways related to resilient aging.
Krista Harrison, PhD is an Associate Professor at UCSF in the Division of Geriatrics, an Atlantic Senior Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute, and affiliated with the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. Her research focuses on improving systems of care for home-dwelling older adults with dementia and other serious illnesses.
Lauren Hunt, PhD, RN, FNP is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Department of Physiological Nursing and an Atlantic Senior Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute. Her research focuses on hospice and end-of-life care for older adults with dementia.
Ashwin Kotwal, MD is an Assistant Professor at UCSF in the Division of Geriatrics. Dr. Kotwal’s research focuses on understanding and enhancing social connections of older adults to improve their quality of life and health care access.
Matthew Growdon, MD, MPH is a geriatrician and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Geriatrics. He is interested in health services research aimed at improving the quality of care for older adults with dementia and cognitive impairment, with an emphasis on improving prescribing practices in this population.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Christina S. Dintica, PhD is an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at UCSF. Her research focuses on vascular risk factors and subclinical cardiovascular disease markers in relation to cognitive outcomes and neuroimaging patterns of brain aging.
Clémence Cavaillès, PhD is an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at UCSF. Her research focuses on the relationship between sleep patterns and dementia.
Xiaqing Jiang, PhD, MPH is a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on cardiovascular risk factors, multiple chronic conditions, and cognitive decline.
Dillys Xiaodi Liu, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on sleep, brain health and machine learning.
Nathaniel Fleming, MD, MS is an Assistant Professor at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neuroscience. His research focuses on the risk factors for neurodegenerative outcomes.
Michelle Caunca is a physician-scientist in training and PGY-4 in the Department of Neurology at UCSF. She is interested in multilevel predictors of cerebrovascular disease, dementia, and cognitive impairment.
Student Trainees
Masayuki Teramoto, MD, MPH is a physician-scientist in cardiovascular prevention and a MAS student at UCSF in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. His research focuses on cardiovascular risk factors, atherosclerosis, and cognitive decline.
Staff
Amber Bahorik, PhD leads our data core and provides study design and analytic support.
Kathy Fung, MS supports our studies focused on dementia risk in Veterans and collaborates on multiple analytic projects.
Tina Hoang, MPH focuses on modifiable risk factors for cognitive aging, including cardiovascular risk, with an emphasis on understanding these relationships over the life course.
Carrie Peltz, PhD focuses on traumatic brain injury (TBI), dementia, and other military risk factors in Veterans. She also coordinates several clinical studies examining modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
Alice Roberts, MA oversees Dr. Yaffe's grant portfolio and provides award management for Dr. Yaffe's many NIH, DoD, and foundation grants.
George Schroeder is a Server & Analytics Administrator for Northern California Institute for Research and Education and San Francisco VA. He maintains the Center's databases and servers.
Tamar Simone provides research support and assists in the daily coordination of study operations.
Feng Xia, MPH leads statistical analyses for several ongoing studies at the Center, including CARDIA and LIMBIC.
Alexa Knuth, DPT is a Clinical Research Health Educator. Her work focuses on the development and implementation of a risk factor reduction intervention among Veterans living with Traumatic Brain Injury.
Julia Park Cheunkarndee provides research support and assists in the daily coordination of study operations.