People

Kristine Yaffe, MD

Center Director
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Yaffe is the Scola Endowed Chair and Vice Chair and Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology at UCSF as well as the Chief of NeuroPsychiatry and Director of the Memory Evaluation Clinic at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She is a leading expert in the epidemiology of dementia and cognitive aging. Dr. Yaffe’s work bridges neurology, psychiatry, and epidemiology with a primary focus on modifiable risk factors and dementia prevention.

Deborah Barnes, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Barnes is internationally recognized as an expert in the epidemiology of brain health, cognitive decline, and dementia. There are currently nearly 7 million Americans and 55 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and prevalence is expected to more than double by 2050. Dr.

John Boscardin, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

W. John Boscardin, Ph.D. is a biostatistician with a joint appointment as Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics. His primary roles with the Department of Medicine are as Director of the Statistical Laboratory for Aging Research, Co-leader of the UCSF Pepper Center Data and Analysis Core, and Co-leader of the Analytics Core for the UCSF/Mount Sinai DEVELOP AD Research Program Project. The laboratory is comprised of ten Master’s and Ph.D.

Willa Brenowitz, PhD, MPH

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

I am an epidemiologist and I am broadly interested in understanding factors that contribute to brain aging. I am especially interested in the role of multimorbidity in cognitive decline, as well as the intersection of genetic, psychosocial, and health factors across the lifecourse. I am also interested in using novel statistical and epidemiologic approaches to study AD and other chronic diseases in aging.

Amy Byers, PhD, MPH

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Byers is Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics. She is an epidemiologist with a background in aging research, methods, and biostatistics. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of late-life mental health and employs advanced epidemiological and biostatistical techniques to determine the incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of late-life mental health disorders with the objective of reducing the burden of these disorders by informing long-term clinical care. Dr.

Raquel Gardner, MD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Gardner is a board-certified behavioral neurologist with specific expertise in the evaluation and management of individuals with mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and older adult traumatic brain injury.

Her clinical research program focuses on traumatic brain injury in older adults with the goal of improving short and long-term outcomes in this population. Her work is supported by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Erica Kornblith, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Kornblith is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist and clinical researcher based at SFVAMC with expertise in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and cognitive aging, rehabilitation research, telehealth, and clinical trials.

Yue Leng, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

As an internationally-trained epidemiologist, Dr. Leng is interested in studying the link between sleep and neurodegeneration in older adults. Her research program, supported by an NIH K99/R00 award, focuses on the relationship between napping, sleep, circadian rhythms and risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Leng is also interested in developing behavioral sleep intervention programs in patients with mild cognitive impairment, with the ultimate aim of decreasing risk of Alzheimer’s onset or progression.

Eric Vittinghoff, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Eric Vittinghoff is an applied statistician with extensive experience in the design and analysis of clinical trials as well as observational studies, including applications in the field of aging and cognition. He has worked for many years with Drs.