Dr. Peter Bayley's Lab
Meet the team
Director of Research, War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliated) Stanford School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Bayley serves as a neuroscientist at the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center. He has a research background in basic neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience and his research interests focus on memory disorders. He performed graduate research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) where he studied memory disorders in patients with various forms of dementia. He completed his postdoctoral training at UCSD in the study of learning and memory in patients with brain lesions using brain imaging and neuropsychological techniques.
His current research interests include the treatment of long-term difficult to treat conditions such as pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, Gulf War Illness, and Alzheimer’s disease. Participants in his studies often have more than one condition such as chronic pain and Alzheimer’s disease. He studies the effect of complementary and integrative health techniques including yoga, meditation and mindfulness using objective measures including brain imaging and cognitive testing. He also has an interest in early detection of dementia and is a member of the Memory Screening Advisory Board for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
Ms. Louise Mahoney founded the WRIISC Yoga Wellness program at the VA in Palo Alto. She is a co-investigator on a VA-DoD funded study to explore yoga and a group education program as treatment for chronic pain in Veterans from Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield (ODS/S) and has a deep interest in contributing towards the evidence base for yoga as treatment in medical settings.
Ms. Mahoney has a MS degree in molecular and developmental genetics, is a registered yoga instructor, and a Level II iRest teacher in training. Among other duties, she directs the WRIISC Yoga Wellness program that provides yoga classes to Veterans at the Palo Alto VA and its associated Community Clinics collaborating with the VA Palo Alto Clinical Video Telehealth program.
Dr. Allende earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. During his doctoral studies, his research efforts were focused on stress responsivity and the impact of mind-body practices on chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. He also developed competency in using the R programming language to clean and structure large datasets, develop dashboards, and conduct a variety of analyses, such as linear mixed models, survival models, and mixture models.
Dr. Zulkayda Mamat earned her doctorate in Medical Sciences (Cognitive Neuroscience) from Trinity College at University of Cambridge. During her doctoral studies, she mostly focused on the intersection among forgetting, thought control and mental wellbeing. Aside from academic research, she is passionate about empowering the Uyghur diaspora and spends her free time organizing and delivering events related to Uyghur mental health.
Dr. Adriel Brown completed his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in Education (area of focus in creativity and cognition) and his M.S. in Neuroscience and Education with an Award of Completion in Spirituality Mind Body Practices at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a former professional dancer and obtained his M.A. in Teaching Dance in Higher Education and the Professions (concentration in ballet pedagogy) from New York University and his B.F.A. in Ballet (minor in arts administration) from Texas Christian University. Dr. Brown conducts electroencephalographic (EEG) research investigating the effects of mind-body interventions on neurocognitive functions in individuals with psychiatric disorders.
Annie Lau, B.A.
Annie Lau is a Project Coordinator at the Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research. She joined the Bayley Lab in 2023 as a research assistant and Present-Centered Therapy (PCT) Study Therapist. Annie holds a B.A. in Psychology from San Jose State University, and is interested in further exploring the benefits of mind-body connection on mental health and trauma recovery.
Meditation & PTSD
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that develops as a result of exposure to a traumatic event and is characterized by intense physiological and psychological reactivity to stimuli associated with that trauma. Recent reports have also highlighted that PTSD is associated with suicidality - a fact that may explain the alarming rise of suicidal behavior amongst returning Veterans. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) s a meditation technique that involves a sequence of breathing exercises and has shown promise in treating PTSD.
Gulf War Illness
Many military personnel who participated in the Gulf War in 1990-1991 reported negative health consequences subsequent to their deployment, the most prevalent involving a triad of symptoms that include fatigue, pain, and cognitive disturbances, commonly referred to as "Gulf War Illness" (GWI). No clear, unifying patho-physiological disease process or effective treatment has yet been identified for GWI. Results from a diverse spectrum of research studies support the view that veterans with GWI are medically ill, but that the physiological abnormalities that contribute to their illness are not currently well understood nor sufficiently treated by conventional medicine.
Bayley Lab Alumni
Jasmin Francisco, B.S.
Jasmin Francisco joined the Bayley lab at Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research in 2021 as a Project Coordinator. During her time in the lab, she managed four clinical trials from start-up to close-out.
Jasmin graduated with a B.S. in Physiology and Exercise Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. She will be attending Georgetown University to pursue her Master's of Science in Bioinformatics. Jasmin is interested in computional biology and genomics.
Heidi Mahoney Ram, C-IAYT, E-RYT, MPA
Heidi is a certified yoga therapist, instructor and irest level 1 teacher. She joined the Bayley Lab in 2021 as a yoga teacher and research assistant. As a lifelong student of yoga, her interests lie in using yoga tools to support people in each stage of life to live with greater ease, integrity, and harmony in mind and body.
Heidi is a mom of two, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and also holds a Master's of Public Administration and B.S. in Anthropology and Marketing.
Korrine Fitz, B.A., M.A.
Korrine Fitz is a certified yoga instructor and fitness coach. She joined the Bayley Lab in 2021 as a yoga teacher and research assistant, after many years of teaching yoga to veterans through the V.A.
As a lifelong student of dance, fitness and yoga, Korrine’s focus is on personal growth and wellness, with special attention to trauma and stress-related conditions.
Korrine is an avid traveler, speaks French and Hebrew, and holds an M.A. in International Policy Studies and B.A. in French and Political Science.
Audrey Keaney, M.A.
Audrey is a yoga teacher and psychotherapist. She is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She has been teaching yoga and meditation for the past 6 years. She joined the Bayley lab in 2021 as a yoga teacher and research assistant supporting research exploring the benefits of yoga for chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease, and Lyme disease. Audrey is passionate about movement and the mind/body connection. In her free time, she loves to swim in the ocean, play piano and guitar, practice yoga, and hike.
Audrey holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and B.A. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience.
Caro Fenno, E-RYT, TCTSY-F
Caro joined the Bayley Lab in 2019 as the coordinator of the WRIISC Yoga and Meditation program through the Palo Alto VA. She is an experienced yoga and dance instructor and is a certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator. Caro is passionate about healing through movement, awareness, and agency.
Caro holds a BA in International Studies from Duke University.
Kelly Parker-Bridges E-RYT
Kelly is a San Francisco Bay Area yoga teacher and retired police officer. After experiencing the benefits of yoga in her own life, her passion became teaching yoga and meditation to veterans and first responders. She joined the Bayley Lab in 2021 as a research assistant and yoga teacher.
Kelly is also an iRest Level 1 teacher and is working toward her yoga therapist certification at the Stress Management Center of Marin.
Dr. Erika Tomlinson, PsyD
Dr. Erika Tomlinson joined the Bayley lab in 2019 as a post doctoral fellow. She worked on a project testing the feasibility of online yoga in patients with Lymes Disease.
Shweta Pahade, B.S.
Shweta Pahade joined the Bayley lab at Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research from 2019 - 2022 as a Project Coordinator. She led the Feasibility of At-Home Telehealth Yoga for Chronic Pain research study at WRIISC. She is now a Product Designer in Tech.
She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dr. Jay Schulz-Heik , Ph.D.
Dr. Jay Schulz-Heik joined the Bayley lab as a post doctoral fellow. His research focused on PTSD.
Jason Greenberg, B.S.
Jason Greenberg joined the Bayley lab at Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research from 2020 - 2021 as a Project Coordinator. He worked on a project testing the feasibility of online yoga on chronic musculoskeletal pain in Alzheimer's patients.
He graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Kamini Dixit
Kamini Dixit joined the Bayley lab at Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research from 2017 - 2019 as a Clinical Research Assistant. She worked on a phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of 2 doses of Benralizumab in patients with moderate to very severe COPD with a history of COPD exacerbations.