Our Team
"Our center is dedicated to the care of individuals with Frontotemporal degeneration spectrum disorders. Understanding the basis for Frontotemporal degeneration will improve quality of life and lead to a cure for these conditions." ~ Dr. Murray Grossman, Founder, Penn FTD Center
Directors
Corey McMillan PhD, he/him
Biography The overall mission of Dr. Corey McMillan's Bioinformatics in Neurodegenerative Disease (BiND) Lab, housed within the Penn FTD Center, is to use multimodal and bioinformatic approaches to improve our understanding of the biological basis of neurodegenerative conditions. Corey McMillan's lab aims to develop robust biomarkers that can be used to better diagnose neurodegenerative diseases, accelerate drug discovery of disease-modifying agents, and to define essential clinical trial endpoint measures. His clinical-translation research program focuses on two classes of neurodegenerative proteinopathies including the misfolded tau protein that contributes to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), primary age-related tauopathy (PART), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), as well as the TDP-43 protein that contributes to a spectrum of FTLD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His lab emphasizes biologically-grounded hypotheses with novel analytic and multimodal approaches integrating MRI and PET imaging modalities with genomics and clinical datasets. Corey is also affiliated with several research centers at the University of Pennsylvania including Penn Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Penn Institute on Aging, Penn Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, and MindCORE.
Lauren Massimo PhD, CRNP
Biography Lauren Massimo is a graduate of the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Massimo holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from The Pennsylvania State University and master’s degree as an Adult and Gerontology Nurse Practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Massimo’s research focuses on identifying the cognitive and neural basis for decline in neurodegenerative disease. Over her decade-long career as a nurse practitioner in cognitive neurology, she has enjoyed the opportunity to work with and support many patients with neurodegenerative disease and their families. She has received numerous grants and awards including the John A. Hartford Foundation Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity pre-doctoral fellowship and two National Research Service Awards. She is currently funded by the National Institute on Aging for her work on cognitive reserve in young-onset dementia.
David Irwin MD
Biography Dr. David Irwin co-directs the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and is the PI of the Penn Digital Neuropathology Lab. He has dual training in cognitive neurology and neuropathology and his lab focuses on integrating human brain histopathology and molecular techniques with imaging methods to discover therapeutic targets and develop tissue-sensitive biomarkers to facilitate clinical trials for emerging therapies for FTD, LBD, AD and related disorders. Dr. Irwin is accepting new patient appointments through the PENN Frontotemporal Degeneration Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (215) 662-3606.
Faculty
Sara Manning MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Biography Dr. Manning received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Harvard University, where she graduated magna cum laude prior to moving to Philadelphia. She received her medical degree, along with a master's degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology, from the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to complete residency in neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she subsequently completed a fellowship in cognitive neurology. She now works both in the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center and the Penn Memory Center. She’s particularly interested in narrative medicine and teaching the lay public about neurologic afflictions. She's published work in The New York Times and The Boston Globe Magazine and is working on a book about molecules that hijack the brain.
Jeffrey Phillips PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Biography Dr. Jeffrey Phillips' research is driven by a desire to understand the progression of neurodegenerative disease and predict its effects at an individual patient level. His current research program includes a focus on atypical, earlier-onset variants of Alzheimer’s disease and on mixed pathologies. Methodologically, this work leverages MRI-based measures of grey and white matter degeneration (Phillips, Da Re, et al., 2018, 2019) as well as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of tau protein accumulation to evaluate patients’ disease progression during life (Phillips et al., 2018, 2021). His long-term translational research plan is to develop quantitative, biomarker-based models of disease risk that link information from the molecular level (genotyping and pathology) to the systems level (structural, functional, and molecular neuroimaging) and overt behavior (neuropsychological and cognitive neuroscientific assessment). He aims to apply this research translationally to predict disease spread and cognitive changes on the individual patient level. By enhancing the diagnostic and prognostic value of antemortem imaging, we can more accurately target clinical care efforts and potential disease-modifying therapies.
Katheryn Cousins, she/her
Biography Katheryn Cousins is a Research Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Frontotemporal Degeneration Center. Her research evaluates cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma, and digital biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal degeneration, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body diseases. This work has the translational goal of improving the accuracy of in vivo screening and of capturing pathologic and clinical heterogeneity in life.
Katya Rascovsky PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Biography Dr. Katya Rascovsky is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She received her BA in Biological Basis of Behavior and Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a MA in Psychology from New York University. From 1995-1999 she worked in a memory disorder’s clinic and taught neuropsychology in her native country of Colombia. In 2005, she was awarded her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Rascovsky completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Neuropsychology at the Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, where she also worked as an Instructor and Assistant Professor. Dr. Rascovsky’s research has focused on identifying the cognitive and behavioral markers of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Her research also includes studies of survival and clinical progression of patients with frontotemporal degeneration. Current research interests include social norm violation, politeness and compulsivity in bvFTD, as well as studies of impulsivity using neuroeconomic methods. She also conducts cross-cultural studies of young-onset dementia in Latin America.
Naomi Nevler
Biography Naomi Nevler is a 2004 graduate of the Sourasky School of Medicine in Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel. In 2015 she completed her residency in Neurology at the Tel-Aviv Medical Center. Dr. Nevler’s experience treating patients who suffer from neurodegenerative disorders has led her to join Dr. Grossman’s lab at the Penn FTD Center with the intention of specializing in the field of Behavioral Neurology. Her current research topic is the prosodic changes in the speech of people with neurodegenerative related conditions such as FTD and PPA. Prosody refers to the elements of speech such as speech rate, pauses and intonations that work in synergy with the linguistic content to express specific emotional messages. The research is aimed at developing novel algorithms for automated speech analysis, in the hope of establishing a reliable clinical biomarker for FTD.
Emma Rhodes PhD
Biography Emma Rhodes completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Temple University, predoctoral internship in Neuropsychology at UCSD, and postdoctoral fellowship in Geropsychology and Neuropsychology at UCSF/San Francisco VA Medical Center. She is an instructor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Neurology department at the University of Pennsylvania and serves as the Co-Chair of the Social Media Committee of the International Neuropsychological Society. Dr. Rhodes’ research focuses on mechanisms of neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative disease, with an emphasis on social and emotional dysfunction in bvFTD, and the impact of psychosocial factors, such as mood and personality, on clinical and cognitive outcomes in aging and dementia. She additionally works as a clinical neuropsychologist, conducting comprehensive clinical assessments of patients with a wide range of neurologic and psychiatric etiologies. She strives to conduct research that is clinically informed and meaningful for patients and their families. In her free time, Dr. Rhodes enjoys painting, reading contemporary fiction, and telling dogs how good they are.
Jeffrey Maneval
TBD
Biography Dr. Jeffrey Phillips' research is driven by a desire to understand the progression of neurodegenerative disease and predict its effects at an individual patient level. His current research program includes a focus on atypical, earlier-onset variants of Alzheimer’s disease and on mixed pathologies. Methodologically, this work leverages MRI-based measures of grey and white matter degeneration (Phillips, Da Re, et al., 2018, 2019) as well as positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of tau protein accumulation to evaluate patients’ disease progression during life (Phillips et al., 2018, 2021). His long-term translational research plan is to develop quantitative, biomarker-based models of disease risk that link information from the molecular level (genotyping and pathology) to the systems level (structural, functional, and molecular neuroimaging) and overt behavior (neuropsychological and cognitive neuroscientific assessment). He aims to apply this research translationally to predict disease spread and cognitive changes on the individual patient level. By enhancing the diagnostic and prognostic value of antemortem imaging, we can more accurately target clinical care efforts and potential disease-modifying therapies.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Barbara Spencer PhD, she/her
Biography Barbara joined the FTD Center as a postdoctoral fellow after completing her PhD in Neurosciences at UC San Diego. Leveraging genotype and transcriptomic approaches, she aims to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to clinical heterogeneity across TDP-43 proteinopathies.
Sanjana Shellikeri PhD
Biography Sanjana joined the Penn FTD Center as a post-doctoral research fellow in September 2019. She received her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology with a Collaborative Specialization in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Canada. Her research works to delineate motor from cognitive-linguistic effects on speech and to link speech behaviors to underlying pathology in neurodegenerative diseases. This research is aimed at developing valid and reliable clinical biomarkers which has implications for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic trials.
Ting Shen PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Biography Ting joined the FTD Center as a postdoctoral research fellow in January, 2022. She received her Ph.D. in Neurology with a minor in Biomedical Engineering from the Zhejiang University, China. Ting’s current research interests lie in identifying subtypes with distinct disease progression patterns of ALS-FTD spectrum, for a better understanding of the heterogeneity of these neurodegenerative diseases. She additionally works on using integrative imaging transcriptomics approaches to identify gene expression patterns correlated with cortical thickness changes in bvFTD patients.
Daniel Ohm PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Biography Dan is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Dave Irwin’s Digital Neuropathology lab associated with the FTDC. Dan completed his PhD in Neuroscience at Northwestern University where he received training from Drs. Emily Rogalski, Changiz Geula, and M.-Marsel Mesulam. With a passion for neuroanatomy and how it changes in disease, his current work is centered on investigating the vulnerability of select regions and cell types to tau or TDP-43 proteinopathies. One goal of this line of research is to identify the cells and circuits contributing to cognitive impairments associated with frontotemporal dementia syndromes. When not in lab, Dan loves hiking new mountains, teaching his dog new tricks, and improving his photography and drawing skills.
Nadia Dehghani PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Biography
Galit Agmon PhD
Biography Galit is a computational neuro-linguist. She earned her PhD in computational neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2018. With additional training in theoretical linguistics (from The Hebrew University and McGill University), Galit has been using interdisciplinary methods for studying on language processing in the brain. Her past research included theoretical analyses as well as behavioral studies and neuroimaging experiments (fMRI, EEG). After her doctoral studies, Galit has been working at Bar-Ilan University (Israel) on the neurobiology of spontaneous speech. Galit joined FTDC in July 2021, as part of the speech team. Her current study focuses on ways of quantifying syntactic complexity in spontaneous speech, to automatically screen for early onset of language-related pathologies and to better understand the effect of FTD phenotypes on linguistic functions.
Jesse Cohen, MD
Biography Jesse is a Penn Movement Disorders Fellow interested in the influence of Alzheimer’s copathology in Lewy Body diseases. He uses MRI to identify in vivo anatomic correlates of copathology, with the goal of understanding the mechanisms by which copathology affects cognition and other non-motor symptoms. He is particularly interested in how degeneration of sleep/arousal brain circuitry may contribute to neuropsychiatric phenotypes.
Clinical Staff
Katherine Lietz, MSW, LSW
Social Worker
Biography Kate Lietz is a licensed social worker who joined the Penn FTD Center in August 2022, after completing her field training with the Penn Memory Center in the 2021-2022 academic year. At the FTD Center, Kate provides support and education to individuals and loved ones impacted by a diagnosis of FTD or related dementia. She also runs support groups for caregivers loving someone with early-onset memory and thinking changes. She graduated from Boston College with a degree in Sociology and received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, where she specialized in geriatric practice. Kate also sees patients in the cognitive neurology and neuromuscular clinics at Penn Medicine.
Gillian Bradley, MA, BSN, RN, she/her
Clinical Research Nurse
Biography Gillian is a BSN graduate of Thomas Jefferson University's College of Nursing. She received her BA in neuroscience from Drew University and her MA in Psychology and Brain Sciences from Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection in neurodegenerative disease models. Prior to attending nursing school, she helped coordinate interventional drug trials as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Penn FTD Center, where she discovered a passion for working with individuals with FTD and related disorders. As the nurse for the center, she hopes to be a resource for both patients and caregivers as they navigate new diagnoses, optimize symptom management and pursue research opportunities.
Laynie Dratch ScM, CGC
Biography Laynie Dratch is a genetic counselor who joined the Penn FTD Center team in February 2020. She helps families with FTD and related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), navigate genetic testing options through research and clinical encounters. She helps individuals and families adapt to and cope with their diagnoses, and is a resource for all genetics questions. Laynie graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a BA in neuroscience and a minor in psychology. She completed her master’s in genetic counseling at the Johns Hopkins University / National Institutes of Health training program. Her graduate thesis work included a qualitative study of the lived experiences of individuals with or at risk of developing FTD. Laynie sees patients both at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital, and is involved in many of our FTD Center research studies. To schedule a clinical genetic counseling visit, call 215-662-3606 and request “neurogenetics.”
Graduate Students
Christopher Olm
Biography Chris is a Bioengineering PhD Candidate in the Penn FTD Center and the Penn Image Computing and Science Lab (PICSL). His research interests are identifying in vivo markers of disease progression and pathology using structural and functional MRI, in particular arterial spin labeling (ASL). Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, fixing guitars, and plays electric bass in a band.
Lasya Sreepada
Biography Lasya is a Bioengineering PhD student on the NIH T32 grant for Neuroimaging in ADRD and is advised by Drs. Corey McMillan and Dave Wolk. Her research focuses on deciphering heterogeneity and atypicality in Alzheimer's Disease by applying bioinformatics and AI approaches to neuroimaging and epigenetic data. Lasya received her Bachelors in Neuroscience from Yale University.
Isabel Yannatos, she/her
Neuroscience Doctoral Student
Biography Isabel is a neuroscience PhD candidate in Corey McMillan’s lab. Her research focuses on the social, structural, and environmental determinants of cognitive decline and of racial disparities in aging. She is investigating the role of epigenetic markers of aging in how these determinants “get under the skin” to affect cognitive health.
Research Staff
Dahlia Kamel
Clinical Trials Manager
Biography Dahlia Kamel is a Clinical Trials Coordinator at the Penn FTD Center, who joined the FTD Center in December 2020. Dahlia holds a B.S. in Biology, a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience, a Graduate Certificate in Biostatics and SAS Programming, and an M.S. in Health/Medical Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience. She is currently enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Aging Studies PhD Program at the Tulane University School of Medicine, but is taking a break to work in clinical research. Her published M.S. thesis focused on the associations of cognitive and functional screening measures in patients with Alzheimer’s and Mild Cognitive Impairment, and ways to improve diagnostic use and accuracy. Dahlia is primarily interested in neurodegeneration, neurogenetics, and cognition, and extremely excited about working on cutting-edge genetic therapy trials for patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Dahlia’s previous experience includes clinical research coordinating for Penn Memory Center and Department of Sleep Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate research assistant and lab manager for the Cognitive Neuropsychology Lab at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and undergraduate research at the University of North Carolina in the Aging and Cognitive Training Lab.
Jessica Legaspi
Clinical Research Project Manager
Biography Chris is a Bioengineering PhD Candidate in the Penn FTD Center and the Penn Image Computing and Science Lab (PICSL). His research interests are identifying in vivo markers of disease progression and pathology using structural and functional MRI, in particular arterial spin labeling (ASL). Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, fixing guitars, and plays electric bass in a band. Publications https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1fIo8NRemlLQQ/bibliography/public/
Sharon Ash PhD
Research Specialist C
Biography Sharon (Sherry) Ash holds a BA in Biology from Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the FTD Center, she was the Associate Director of the Linguistics Laboratory at Penn, headed by William Labov, conducting research on variation and change in language. As a member of the speech team within the FTDC, she studies the characteristics of phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, fluency, and discourse in the spontaneous speech of individuals with neurodegenerative conditions. This research aims to identify speech biomarkers to aid in the early detection of impairment, assessment of prognosis, and the differentiation of distinct syndromes. After hours, Sherry plays violin in one symphony orchestra and as many theatrical groups as possible and also provides entertainment for three lovely cats.
Julia Kwiecinski
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Quinn Hlava
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Quinn received her B.S in Biology and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia in May 2021. Her previous research includes stroke rehabilitation at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and eye-tracking in Parkinson's at UGA's Sensorimotor Neuroscience Laboratory. At the FTD Center, Quinn is a Neuroimaging Research Coordinator working on two multi-site imaging studies. She hopes to gain more experience in data analysis and patient care to work towards being a physician-researcher in the future. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cuddling with her cats, and painting her nails.
Danielle Almstead, she/her
Biography Danielle Almstead is a Clinical Research Coordinator who works on industry-sponsored therapeutic trials at the Penn FTD Center. Danielle is particularly excited to be able to play a role in offering new and innovative gene therapy trials to those with FTD. Danielle graduated from Princeton University in 2020 with her Bachelors degree in Biology, and joined the Penn FTD Center in May of 2021. Prior to her time at Penn, Danielle worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator on clinical trials for Major Depressive Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Treatment-Resistant Depression, and Alzheimer’s Disease at the Princeton Medical Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.
Ashlyn O’Halloran
Biography Ashlyn O’Halloran is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Penn FTD Center, who joined the FTD center in August 2023. Ashlyn holds a M.A. in Psychological Research from Rutgers University-Camden, and a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science from Montclair State University. Her published master’s thesis focused on social identities influencing joint action cognition. Ashlyn’s previous experience includes being graduate research assistant and lab manager for the Action Cognition Lab at Rutgers University-Camden, a researcher for mobility rehabilitation and Traumatic Brain Injury neuropsychology at the Kessler Foundation, a research assistant in the Neuropsychopharmacology Lab and the Legal Decision Making Lab at Montclair State University, a neurofeedback technician, and as a Behavioral Technician for young children on the ASD spectrum. Ashlyn is primarily interested in psychology, neuroscience, cognition, and behavior. She excited about researching neurodegenerative diseases for patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. She plans to work towards her doctoral degree in psychology. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, concerts, hiking, and crocheting.
Carmen Gonzalez-Recober
Clinical Research
Coordinator
Biography Carmen Gonzalez-Recober recently graduated from The Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College with a B.A. in Psychology and an enhanced minor in Spanish. Her previous research experience included working at the Bilingualism and Language Development Lab at The Pennsylvania State University, where she focused on code-switching effects on comprehension of speech. She is currently the Speech Team Clinical Research Coordinator at the FTD Center and is involved in category versus letter fluency analysis and will be helping to run an upcoming conversation study. She hopes to gain more experience in research and patient care in preparation for graduate school, where she will seek to attain a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Sevila Temirova
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Chigozie Ibe
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Eugene Cha
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Emily Xie
Clinical Research
Coordinator
Biography Emily graduated in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University. Her previous experience includes studying FTLD histology and imaging at UPenn's Digital Neuropathology Lab, as well as inter-cellular components of stress signaling in a Molecular Neuroscience lab at NIH. She is now a clinicial research coodinator and primarily performs cognitive assessments on patients, MRI imaging, and research data management. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, reading, and playing volleyball.
Cleo Zografos
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Cleo Zografos graduated from the University of Delaware in 2022 with an M.A. in Cognitive Science and Linguistics. Additionally, she received her B.S. in Cognitive Science and B.A. in Psychology in 2021. Currently, Cleo is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the FTD Center focusing on the ALLFTD study, where she screens and schedules research activities with patients with FTD-related disorders, including neuropsychological assessments, MRI, and biofluid processing. Her previous research experience included working in the Child's Play, Learning, and Development Lab at the University of Delaware, as a research assistant where she analyzed speech, coded, and organized research that facilitated the expansion of knowledge in child development. Cleo also worked at another center on a study that analyzed infants' vision and preferences through an eye-tracking device.
Jordana Woodford, MA, Ed.S, she/her
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Jordana has recently joined the FTD center as a clinical research coordinator. She has spent much of her career working in the field of developmental disorders in early childhood. Her previous experience includes projects, such as epidemiological studies at the Center for Autism Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, an intervention study for toddlers diagnosed with autism at Catholic University, and implementation of school-based interventions to improve student mental health at a low resourced school in partnership with University of Delaware. In 2020, Jordana received a master’s degree in school psychology at the University of Delaware. She worked as a nationally-certified school psychologist in an early childhood center in the state of Delaware where she identified student’s developmental needs and coordinated with families and teachers to implement effective, evidence-based interventions. Jordana enjoys singing with her choir and spending time with her family, especially her nieces and nephew.
Alexandra Tavani
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Alexandra received her B.S in Exercise Physiology from Cabrini University in May 2022. At the FTD Center, Alexandra is a Clinical Research Coordinator who works on Industry-sponsored trials. Her previous clinical experience includes working with adolescents in the Cardiac Exercise Lab and Healthy Weight Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Alexandra is excited to have the opportunity of participating in innovative therapeutic and investigational trials to help patients and families with neurodegenerative diseases.
Caralyn Higginbottom
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography
Yoon Duk Kim
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Yoon Duk is a programmer in the Speech Team at the FTD Center. He primarily works on developing the Speech Team’s automated analysis pipeline. He enjoys refactoring code, optimizing algorithms, and making web applications for niche use cases. His favorite activity of the day is walking with his dog by the Schuylkill River in the morning.
Mara Bloom, she/her
Biography Mara Bloom joined the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center as a Clinical Research Coordinator in February 2023. She is working on studies investigating empathy and apathy in bvFTD. Mara graduated from Temple University in 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.S. in Human Development & Community Engagement. She has experience in both cognitive and cellular & molecular neuroscience research. She studied the relationship between spatial cognition and math ability at Temple’s Infant and Child Laboratory. Additionally, she completed her undergraduate independent research in the Grinspan Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute where her distinction paper focused on central nervous system myelin plasticity in response to motor learning and exercise in neurodegeneration. Mara also completed a post-baccalaureate fellowship at the in the Buonanno Lab at the National Institutes of Health studying Neuregulin-2 on PV+ GABAergic interneurons which is a protein implicated in Scizophrenia. Mara is deeply interested in neurodegeneration and plans to eventually pursue a PhD in Neuropsychology.
Cara Joyce, she/her
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Cara Joyce (She/Her/Hers) received her B.A. in Psychology and M.P.H in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Temple University. Before joining the Penn FTD center, Cara worked as a clinical research coordinator at The Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) at Temple University. Her research experience included managing a pilot study aimed at reducing added sugar intake in adolescents and administering a sleep-enhancing behavioral intervention for school aged children. Cara is a clinical research coordinator at the Penn FTD center working on industry sponsored trials. She is particularly excited to be involved in the early stages of drug and genetic therapy treatment for FTD.
Nadia Dehghani
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Cara Joyce (She/Her/Hers) received her B.A. in Psychology and M.P.H in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Temple University. Before joining the Penn FTD center, Cara worked as a clinical research coordinator at The Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) at Temple University. Her research experience included managing a pilot study aimed at reducing added sugar intake in adolescents and administering a sleep-enhancing behavioral intervention for school aged children. Cara is a clinical research coordinator at the Penn FTD center working on industry sponsored trials. She is particularly excited to be involved in the early stages of drug and genetic therapy treatment for FTD.
Lauren Bracken
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Lauren Bracken graduated from Dickinson College in May 2023 with her B.S in Neuroscience and minor in Chemistry. In August 2023, she joined the FTD Center as a Clinical Research Coordinator. She previously interned in Dr. Ma's lab for neuronal circuit development and dendritic branching at Thomas Jefferson University. She has an interest in neurodegenerative diseases and is excited to gain clinical research experience with Frontotemporal Dementia. In her free time, Lauren enjoys watching Philadelphia sports teams, going on runs and walks, baking, and traveling to the beach.
Nadia Dehghani
Clinical Research Coordinator
Biography Cara Joyce (She/Her/Hers) received her B.A. in Psychology and M.P.H in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Temple University. Before joining the Penn FTD center, Cara worked as a clinical research coordinator at The Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) at Temple University. Her research experience included managing a pilot study aimed at reducing added sugar intake in adolescents and administering a sleep-enhancing behavioral intervention for school aged children. Cara is a clinical research coordinator at the Penn FTD center working on industry sponsored trials. She is particularly excited to be involved in the early stages of drug and genetic therapy treatment for FTD.
MaKayla Lowe MHS, she/her
Research Specialist
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Alejandra Bahena
Research Specialist
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Administration
Daneel Douglas
Data Management Systems
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Brian Nelson BS
Data Management Systems
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Leila Pearlman
Data Management Systems
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Meaghan Sharp
Data Management Systems
Biography Julia Kwiecinski is a Clinical Research Coordinator who joined our center in August 2021, after receiving her BA in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her primary focus is working with families who are affected by genetic forms of FTD via the ALLFTD study. Julia conducts cognitive assessment sessions, collects family history information, and works alongside our genetics team. Julia has prior experience working with and collecting cognitive assessments on individuals affected by ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorders. Julia hopes to gain more experience working with genetic forms of FTD and eventually become a genetic counselor working with individuals affected by FTD and ALS.
Chace Brokaw
Regulatory Coordinator
Biography Chace joined the FTD Center in November 2022 as the Regulatory Coordinator. She provides current staff with regulatory insights, assists in audit monitoring and works closely with the IRB. She also assists with making sure the center is adhering to current FDA and GCP guidelines. Chace received her BS in Biostatistics from The Pennsylvania State University in 2019 with minors in Health Policy Administration and Biology. She also completed a MS of Data Science at Eastern University. Chace hopes to use her statistics and data science knowledge to further her career at the FTD center in a data analyst capacity. In her free time Chace enjoys hanging out with her friends, snowboarding and cuddling her mini bernedoodle Calliope.