Claire Cadwallader is a postdoctoral fellow in neuropsychology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center under the mentorship of Associate Professor Kaitlin Casaletto. Her research interests involve the role of lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, in supporting healthy brain ageing and protecting against neurodegenerative disease. Originally from New Zealand, she completed her PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Kaitlin Casaletto, PhD, ABPP-CN, is a neuropsychologist at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center passionate about understanding resilience to brain aging and neurodegeneration. She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program and her fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center where she went on to join faculty. Her research program aims to prevent cognitive decline by understanding the biological and behavioral drivers of cognitive resilience.
Coty Chen is a research coordinator for Dr. Kaitlin Casaletto's Activities for Aging Neurogenesis study, an intervention-based study investigating the relationship between lifestyle factors and protein markers of neural functioning. She is interested in how individual differences in brain structure and genetic underpinnings influence the risk for neurodegenerative diseases. She graduated with a BS degree in Clinical Psychology from UC San Diego.
Emily Paolillo, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (emphasis in Neuropsychology) from the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in 2021, which included a predoctoral clinical internship at VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Her research interests include evaluating digital health tools for early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Rowan Saloner, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. He previously coordinated the Longitudinal Brain Aging Program from 2015-2017, and he returned to the MAC in 2021 to pursue a doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology under the mentorship of Dr. Joel Kramer.
Anna VandeBunte is a doctoral candidate in the Casaletto lab, where Dr. Casaletto serves as her primary research mentor. Anna's research interests center on the heart-to-brain connection and the interplay between modifiable risk and cardiovascular burden on the brain. Her work combines biological and lifestyle indicators of cardiovascular health states to better understand the mechanisms through which systemic cardiovascular health impacts brain aging.
