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

Dementia prevalence is expected to triple worldwide over the next 40 years at tremendous monetary and emotional cost.

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 role with the Department of Medicine is as Director of the Statistical Laboratory for the Division of Geriatrics and for SFVAMC Health Services Research. The laboratory is comprised of six Master’s and Ph.D. level statisticians and provides data management, analytic support, and methodological input to more than a dozen principal investigators in geriatrics and health services.

Willa Brenowitz, PhD, MPH

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

I am an epidemiologist and 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

As a board-certified neurologist, Dr. Gardner evaluates and treats patients with various neurological disorders and provides them with follow-up care. As a fellowship-trained behavioral neurologist, Dr. Gardner has specific expertise in the evaluation and management of patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Erica Kornblith, PhD

Core Faculty
Center for Population Brain Health

Dr. Kornblith is a neuropsychologist and clinical researcher based at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Her research, funded by VA Rehabilitation Research and Development, focuses on using technology to increase access to cognitive rehabilitation treatment for older Veterans with history of TBI. Other research and clinical interests include epidemiology of dementia, TBI and cognitive aging, and assessment and treatment of cognitive sequelae of TBI and acquired brain injury.

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.