Stanford ADRC Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core
The Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core assists in recruiting volunteers for the Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). Our recruitment emphasizes patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies; patients with mild cognitive impairment; and healthy older controls without neurological disease or cognitive impairment.
The Core plays a crucial role in enrolling and retaining patients and controls who are especially at higher risk for these diseases. We aim to increase accessibility to research programs on cognitive aging and neurodegenerative disorders in all groups, inclusive of those at higher risk. In many instances, Core efforts begin with educational programs and stress reduction programs for the caregiver, who is recruited along with the patient.
Other Core aims are to provide educational opportunities for medical students, medical residents and fellows, and health professionals who work with patients with Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease and their families.
Our academic and community partners include the Stanford Geriatric Education Center; the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute; the Northern California and Northern Nevada chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Parkinson Disease Association; and the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley.
Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor (Research) of Epidemiology & Population Health and of Medicine (Primary Care & Population Health)
Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core leader
An epidemiologist by training, Dr. Goldman Rosas’s research addresses increasing access to care in patients at higher risk of chronic diseases. She received her MPH and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research features rigorous quantitative and qualitative methodologies and shared leadership with patient and community partners. She is passionate about integrating patients, caregivers, community organizations, and other key stakeholders in the research process to improve health and well-being. Dr. Goldman Rosas serves as the Faculty Director for the School of Medicine Office of Community Engagement and the Stanford Cancer Institute Community Outreach and Engagement Program. In addition to research, she teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels in biomedical research.
Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core associate leader
Professional Research Enhancement Program Director for the ADRC
Dr. Rodriguez Espinosa serves as the Associate Director of Research for the Office of Community Engagement at the Stanford University School of Medicine and directs the ADRC Professional Research Enhancement Program. Her research aims to improve community health through transdisciplinary and community-engaged scholarship. She uses community-based participatory research and related approaches to develop novel multi-level interventions and health promotion programs improve health outcomes (e.g., around aging, multiple chronic conditions) and that include multi-sectoral collaborations. Dr. Rodriguez Espinosa is a clinical psychologist by training.
Claudia Padula, PhD
Instructor (Affiliated) at Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Health Research Science Specialist at the VA Palo Alto Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
Dr. Claudia Padula is a clinical psychologist with specialty in neuropsychology. Her clinical and research interests focus on the unique risk factors associated with military service that impact disease development and progression, as well as understanding individual differences and psychiatric co-morbidities. In her role at the ADRC, she hopes to align cutting edge clinical research with the needs of Veterans, with the ultimate goal of improving precision care
Holly Tabor, PhD
Professor of Medicine (Primary Care & Population Health) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Stanford Center of Biomedical Ethics) and of Epidemiology
Holly Tabor, PhD, is the Director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and by Courtesy of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Population Health. She is also Co-Chair of the Ethics Committees at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. She is a globally recognized expert on the ethical issues surrounding health care and research for patients with disabilities, especially intellectual and developmental disability, and on the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) in genetics. Her research has shed light on the benefits and risks of participating in genomic research, particularly of rare and undiagnosed diseases. She is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Bioethical Empirical Research.
Wei-ting Chen, PhD
Executive Director, Office of Community Engagement
Community Engagement & Partnerships Specialist
Dr. Wei-ting Chen is the Executive Director of the Office of Community Engagement at Stanford Medicine. As a sociologist, she focuses on how social factors shape individuals’ family experiences, life chances, and health outcomes from a life course perspective. Prior to joining Stanford Medicine, Dr. Chen was field-based academic in the California Cooperative Extension system, working on applied research projects in close collaboration with community partners.
Henry Alva Alva, BA
Community Outreach and Research Coordinator
Henry is a Community Outreach and Research Coordinator in the Stanford ADRC OREC and a Research Program Associate with the Office of Community Engagement at Stanford Medicine. He holds a BA in Communication Studies with a focus on community engagement and intercultural communication. In his role in the ADRC OREC team, he contributes to recruitment and engagement, evaluation and eligibility assessment efforts aimed at increasing participant enrollment in our studies. As an experienced bilingual and multicultural researcher, he leverages his skills to effectively engage diverse communities and facilitate meaningful connections in our research initiatives.
Nayeli Cerpas-Bernal, MPH
Community Engaged Research Professional
Nayeli serves as a Community Engaged Research Professional with the Office of Community Engagement and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Nayeli is a bilingual and multicultural researcher experienced in partnering with communities on engagement, learning, and action efforts that center and uplift the power of community wisdom in health research. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from UC Berkeley, a certificate in Spanish/English translation from National Hispanic University, and a Master in Public Health from San Francisco State University.
Samantha Ward, BS
Clinical and Neuroimaging Research Coordinator (OREC)
Samantha Ward completed her B.S. degree at Virginia Tech in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. Currently, she is a Clinical Neuroimaging Research Coordinator in the Padula BRAVE Lab where she leads clinical trials investigating transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for substance use disorders. Additionally, she serves as the Veteran Outreach Coordinator within the OREC team of the ADRC, where she leads efforts to engage and support Veteran participants in Alzheimer’s disease research. She collaborates with community partners and clinical teams to enhance Veteran recruitment, retention, and representation in research, ensuring culturally informed outreach and participant-centered communication.