Penn FTD Center - New Staff Highlight

The Penn FTD Center recently welcomed a new staff member. Read the details below on the new staffers and how you may meet them at the Center!

Joel Thompson

What is your role at the Penn FTD Center? 

I joined the Penn FTD Center this February as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) for the ALLFTD study team. As a CRC, I coordinate and conduct clinical research visits for both the ALLFTD study and UNICORN study—the center’s main observational research protocol. 

Can you describe your academic and work experience prior to this role?  

I recently graduated in May 2025 from Duke University with a B.S. in Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, I spent 3 of my 4 years involved in academic research primarily in the realm of speech and language. As a sophomore, I studied infant language acquisition under Dr. Elika Bergelson’s psycholinguistics lab. As a junior and senior, I researched topics ranging from hearing loss to auditory perception in Dr. Tobias Overath’s auditory neuroscience lab, which culminated in a successfully defended senior thesis on neural evidence of foreign language attrition. I am interested in both the development and decline of one’s cognitive faculties, particularly language, which has drawn me to research on frontotemporal degeneration.

How might you be interacting with patients?

I help schedule and run clinical research visits with patients, including activities like a blood draw, lumbar puncture, MRI, cognitive testing, all of which give us better insight into the functioning of a neurodegenerative brain. It means a lot to me to have face-to-face patient time, especially within the Penn Medicine hospital system. As a child, I was well cared for by the staff at CHOP who, for over 15 years, monitored a rare case of optic neuritis which I suffered from at the age of two years old. I empathize with patients and families dealing with medical uncertainty and like to bring the same care I received as a little girl to each patient I interact with as a researcher. 

Tell us about a hobby you enjoy!

Most days I am running on the Schuylkill River trail! I grew up as a cross country and track runner and still find running to be a go-to outlet. You will likely see my name on the sign-up sheet of some local Philly races. Outside of running, I also really enjoy traveling, exploring around Philly, and going to the movies with my friends!