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Dr. Elizabeth Head

Research Education Component

Led by Dr. Elizabeth Head, The Research Education Component (REC) of the UCI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) works closely with all Cores to provide training and mentorship opportunities for students and early career investigators in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) research and healthcare.

The REC training program aims to generate the next cutting-edge, innovative and collaborative generation of ADRD researchers. The underlying educational principle is to provide foundational training (e.g., professional skills, learning to mentor, basics of ADRD) and build on this with mentoring in a team science collaborative environment that will facilitate bench to clinic research. Specifically, by providing two mentors, one who serves as the primary mentor within the trainee’s research environment and a second mentor, who is an ADRD area outside of the trainee’s primary research area.

Leadership:

Meet the Trainees

Get to know the next generation of ADRD researchers

Announcements

Upcoming events, workshops, and newsworthy information

Video Library

Research education content for students, investigators, and the general community

Coming soon!

RAMP

Research And Mentorship Program

UCI MIND Fellowship

Research and training for new clinician investigators focused on senior health

IMPACT-AD

Institute on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD

Meet the Trainees

Get to know the next generation of ADRD researchers

Assistant Project Scientist

Soyun Kim, PhD

Neurobiology & Behavior

Assistant Project Scientist
Neurobiology & Behavior
Assistant Clinical Professor

Minodora Totoiu, MD

Pediatric Neurology

Assistant Clinical Professor
Pediatric Neurology
Assistant Professor

Bryce Mander, PhD

Psychiatry & Human Behavior

Assistant Professor
Psychiatry & Human Behavior
Assistant Clinical Professor

Ariel Neikrug, PhD

Psychiatry & Human Behavior

Assistant Clinical Professor
Psychiatry & Human Behavior
Assistant Professor

Lulu Chen, PhD

Anatomy & Neurobiology

Assistant Professor
Anatomy & Neurobiology
Tianchen Qian
Assistant Professor

Tianchen Qian, PhD

Statistics

I am an assistant professor in statistics. I work on causal inference and longitudinal data methods and their applications to health. I am fortunate to have been collaborating with amazing colleagues and mentors at UCI MIND to investigate various aspects of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.
Kevin Beier
Assistant Professor

Kevin Beier, PhD

Physiology & Biophysics

I am an Assistant Professor at UCI, and my lab works on identifying the molecular and circuit basis of disease vulnerability. In AD, we are interested in identifying the earliest triggers of AD pathogenesis in the brain with the hopes of identifying strategies to combat AD-related disease.
Christian Salazar

Christian Salazar, PhD

UCI MIND

Dr. Salazar is an epidemiologist who focuses on studying the social, behavioral, and environmental factors that contribute to health disparities in Hispanic/Latino communities across the life course. Currently, he is funded by the Alzheimer’s Association fellowship and an NIH/K01 career development award, which is aimed at expanding his skills in the areas of mixed-methodology and behavior intervention. His goal is to improve participation of Hispanic/Latino individuals in preclinical trials for Alzheimer's Disease.
Farah Rahmatpanah
Assistant Professor

Farah Rahmatpanah, PhD

Pathology, and Laboratory Medicine

I am an Assistant Professor at Pathology, and Laboratory Medicine Dept. at the University of California Irvine. My laboratory is interested in examining the impact of human endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) on health and diseases. Studying ERVs has been limited given the lack of existing computational tools as they are highly repetitive and present in multiple copies throughout the genome, but we have now created a mapping pipeline for ERV analysis. We have applied this tool to correlate ERV changes with cancer relapse. We use this pipeline to investigate ERVs as potential biomarkers for early detection and basis for racial disparities in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.

Announcements

Upcoming events, workshops, and newsworthy information

TITAN T-32 Training Grant

Predoctoral and Postdoctoral appointments are available immediately as part of a multi-interdisciplinary training program that focuses on training a new generation of ADRD scientists, especially scientists with the unique training and skills necessary to design and perform translational research.

These training positions are funded by the NIA through the Training in Translational ADRD Neuroscience, or TITAN (T32AG073088), under the leadership of MPIs Joshua Grill and Elizabeth Head. Faculty affiliated with UCI’s NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center from the Schools of Biological Sciences, Medicine, Physical Sciences, Information & Computer Sciences and Social Sciences, and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) are part of this interdisciplinary training program.

This program will provide novel and necessary training to prepare investigators to lead the nation in research to reduce the impact of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD).

Postdoctoral applicants must possess a MD, PhD, or equivalent graduate degree. These positions are funded by a NIH training grant. As such, eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Evaluations are on-going and will continue until the positions are filled. Initial appointments are for one year and renewal is based on availability of support.

Faculty with eligible candidates, please send a letter of nomination, description of the trainees’ project and curriculum vitae to Andrea Wasserman at awasserm@uci.edu.

2022 TITAN Trainee: Davis Woodworth

Davis Woodworth, PhD
Mentor: Dr. Seyed Ahmad Sajjadi
Department: Neurology
Term: 2022

2022 TITAN Trainee: Michael Starrett

Michael Starrett, PhD
Mentor: Dr. Liz Chrastil
Department: Neurobiology & Behavior
Term: 2022

2022 TITAN Trainee: Desiree Macchia

Desiree Macchia
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Beier
Department: Physiology & Biophysics
Term: 2022

2022 TITAN Trainee: Michael Neel

Michael Neel
Mentor: Dr. Ed Monuki
Department: Experimental Pathology
Term: 2022

2023 TITAN Trainee: Jean-Paul Chadarevian

Jean-Paul Chadarevian
Mentor: Dr. Mathew Blurton-Jones
Department: Neurobiology & Behavior
Term: 2023

2023 TITAN Trainee: Cangao Chu

Cangao Chu
Mentor: Dr. Dan Gillen
Department: Statistics
Term: 2023

2022 TITAN Trainee: Nima Shajarian

Nima Shajarian
Mentor: Dr. Al La Spada
Department: Pathology
Term: 2022

Training in the Neurobiology of Aging

The University of California, Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) training program has a solid track record over its 34-year history of producing highly successful scientists who enter academia or apply their training and knowledge in private industry to address dementia, a challenging and serious health problem for the nation and our growing senior population.

This multi-interdisciplinary training program, led by Drs. Craig Stark and Andrea Tenner, emphasizes preparation and instruction in the application of molecular and quantitative approaches to the elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of age-related neurodegeneration, brain plasticity during aging, and age-related changes in learning and memory. Faculty from the Schools of Biological Sciences, Medicine, Information and Computer Sciences, and from UCI MIND are part of the training program.

For more information please contact Andrea Wasserman, the training program administrator, at awasserm@uci.edu.

Research and Mentorship Program (RAMP)

RAMP group

In partnership with UCI School of Medicine, UCI MIND launched a new Research And Mentorship Program (RAMP) for medical students in summer 2020. The program, made possible by support from community philanthropist Dr. Lorna Carlin and the nonprofit HFC led by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, pairs medical students with UCI MIND faculty mentors to inspire scientific ideas and future careers in dementia research and care.

As the field presently grapples with a serious shortage of geriatric healthcare professionals, this program aims to create a pipeline of enthusiastic trainees who, motivated by their experiences and mentorship, choose medical careers to advance knowledge and care for older adults.

Since the program was founded in 2020, there have been over a dozen participants who have been given the chance to present their projects to colleagues; many of whom were given the opportunity to publish their results in peer-reviewed journals to be shared with Alzheimer’s and dementia researchers worldwide.

For more information about UCI MIND RAMP or questions on how to help sustain it, please contact Claire Nelson at cghazal@hs.uci.edu.

HFC founders, Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen virtually congratulated UCI MIND RAMP inaugural trainees

2023 RAMP Mentee: Mio Jang

Mio Jang
Mentor: Bernard Choi, PhD

Project: Identifying Cerebrovascular Imaging Parameters as Preclinical Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease

2023 RAMP Mentee: Maxwell Lee

Maxwell Lee
Mentor: Claudia Kawas, MD

Project: Exploring Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Protective Factor for Cerebral Perfusion in Elderly Patients

2023 RAMP Mentee: Ariana Moss

Ariana Moss
Mentor: Craig Stark, PhD

Project: Longitudinal Association of Biomarkers and Depression on the Onset and Progression of Alzheimer’s Dementia

2023 RAMP Mentee: Cindy Okamoto

Cindy Okamoto
Mentor: Bryce Mander, PhD

Project: Influence of Sleep on Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers and Cognitive Function Across Levels of Cognitive Status

2023 RAMP Mentee: Cynthia Tsang

Cynthia Tsang
Mentor: Elizabeth Head, MA, PhD

Project: Assessing Alzheimer’s Disease Markers in Feline Brains

2023 RAMP Mentee: Casey Vanderlip

Casey Vanderlip
Mentor: Elizabeth Head, MA, PhD

Project: Fibrinogen Brain Deposition Across the Lifespan in Down Syndrome

2023 RAMP Mentee: Joey Wong

Joey Wong
Mentor: Seyed Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD

Project: Analysis of Genes Implicated in Risk for Limbic Predominant Age-Related TDP-43 Encephalopathy Neuropathologic Change (LATE) in the 90+ Study

2023 RAMP Mentee: Katherine Yanes

Katherine Yanes
Mentor: Melissa Lodoen, PhD

Project: Effects of Toxoplasma Gondii on the Neuroimmune Landscape and Pathology in Human Alzheimer’s Disease

2022 RAMP Mentee: Joseph Bishop

Joseph Bishop
Mentor: Mark Mapstone, PhD

Project: Connecting Metabolic Changes in Liver, Blood, and Brain of 5XFAD Mice

2022 RAMP Mentee: Sydney Burger

Sydney Burger
Mentor: Steven Tam, MD

Project: Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Caregiver Training

2022 RAMP Mentee: Amber Duong

Amber Duong
Mentors: Ira Lott, MD and Elizabeth Head, PhD

Project: Amygdala Lewy bodies in Adults with Down Syndrome: Clinical Context

2022 RAMP Mentee: Hannah Nguyen

Hannah Nguyen
Mentor: Seyed Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD

Project: Identifying the Risk Factors and Contribution of Arteriolosclerosis to Cognitive Impairment in the Oldest Old

2022 RAMP Mentee: Victoria Nguyen

Victoria Nguyen
Mentor: David Sultzer, MD

Project: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Differences in Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Jeremy Rouanet is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Elizabeth Head, PhD, professor and vice chair for research of pathology, to study identification and characterization of blood-based biomarkers of AD in the DS population.

Lauren Houchin is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Kim Green, PhD, professor of neurobiology & behavior, to conduct immunohistochemical staining, slide-scanning, and confocal microscopy to characterize the pathology in mouse models of AD.

Yueqi Ren is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Craig Stark, PhD, professor of neurobiology & behavior, on predicting Alzheimer’s disease status and cognitive decline using multi-modal machine learning methods.

Isabella Sanchez is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Leslie Thompson, PhD, professor of psychiatry & human behavior, neurobiology & behavior, and biological chemistry to study Huntington’s disease.

Raumin Neuville is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Claudia Kawas, MD, professor of neurology and neurobiology and behavior, to study the relationship between cognitive functioning and neuropathology among people aged 100 and older, or centenarians.

Catriona Lewis is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor David Sultzer, MD, professor of psychiatry and human behavior, to evaluate the relationships between beta amyloid accumulation in the brain and mood/anxiety symptoms in asymptomatic older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Eric Han is working with UCI MIND faculty mentor Mark Fisher, MD, professor of neurology, to study the relationship between cognitive decline, cerebral microvascular disease, and uremic toxins (compounds usually filtered and excreted by the kidneys) among patients with chronic kidney disease.

UCI MIND Fellowship

Since Harriet Harris facilitated the partnership in 2018, the Brethren Community Foundation has contributed $350,000 to research and training at UCI MIND. With its dual focus on education, the Foundation took a special interest in supporting fellowships for new clinician investigators focused on senior health.

So far, the partnership has resulted in the recruitment of two neuropsychologist fellows, Jean Ho, PhD and Jung Jang, PhD.

Dr. Ho’s research focuses on the link between blood pressure medication use in older adults and potential cognitive bene ts. As part of her fellowship at UCI MIND, Dr. Ho will receive training in the design and analysis of clinical trials to test this association, which may have implications to future dementia prevention.

Dr. Jang’s research focuses on the understudied emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with dementia, and she has already published several important ndings on this topic. As a UCI MIND fellow, she aims to improve understanding of how vascular damage to the brain may contribute to these symptoms, hopefully providing insights to potential new assessments and treatments for dementia.

The Foundation considers its grant recipients partners in the mission to improve the well-being of its community, and UCI MIND is a proud partner and witness to the power of leadership demonstrated by the Foundation. Together, community leaders and UCI MIND can and will solve Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and improve circumstances for future generations.

Drs. Jean Ho (left) and Jung Jang (right) were awarded UCI MIND Fellowships supported by the Brethren Community Foundation.

Institute on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD (IMPACT-AD)

IMPACT-AD was founded to train the next generation of ADRD clinical trialists, to ensure that investments in discovery yield outcomes for patients and families. Our goal is to provide education and tools to establish a national cohort of qualified investigators to guide the field toward improved therapies.

Equally importantly, we are focused on diversifying the ADRD trial workforce. This diversity is manifold: it includes the demographic characteristics of investigators (age, race, ethnicity, etc.), but also their specialties (physicians, psychologists, statisticians, etc.), backgrounds (rural, urban, etc.), and career stage or current position (current AD Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC) site, non-ACTC academic site, non-academic site).

IMPACT-AD will be successful if it produces an outstanding, well-trained, diverse, and knowledgeable cohort of collaborative investigators who will carry the mantle of the National Plan to Address AD.

IMPACT-AD will leverage the outstanding collection of investigators, including members of the ACTC and beyond. National and international leaders in ADRD trials will gather annually to provide a unique, interactive, cutting edge educational experience in ADRD trials. We offer two tracks for those interested in advancing their careers in ADRD trials.

For more information about IMPACT-AD, please visit https://impact-ad.org.

Watch a message from Richard J. Hodes, MD, Director of the National Institute on Aging

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