People

Eva Müller-Oehring, PhD
Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Eva M. Müller-Oehring is a Senior Research Scholar with a joint appointment in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and at SRI International. Dr. Müller-Oehring received her undergraduate and graduate education in Germany, where she studied Psychology at the University of Trier and obtained her Ph.D. in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the School of Medicine, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (OVGU). She did her Clinical Psychology postgraduate studies at the Institute of Behavioral Therapy Lübben (Germany) in accordance with the German Approbation Law for Clinical Psychology, and her internship in at the Department of Psychiatry at OVGU. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in neuroimaging, alcohol use disorder, and psychiatric diseases affecting the brain with Dr. Edith V. Sullivan at Stanford Psychiatry (USA). 

Dr. Müller-Oehring's research interests aim to advance our understanding on ‘how the human brain works’ by studying the relationship between brain structure and function using multimodal imaging approaches in healthy and degraded brain systems. Her current studies focus on neurodegenerative processes, cognitive impairment, motor dysfunction, and modulators of disease severity in people aging with HIV infection, in Parkinson’s disease, and alcohol use disorder. In addition, she studies the dynamic neurodevelopmental plasticity in adolescents transitioning to adult cognitive maturity and emotional control as part of the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). At Dr. Poston’s laboratory, Dr. Müller-Oehring is expanding her neuroimaging research to PET/MR aiming to identify biomarkers underwriting the functional status in Parkinson’s disease. 

Outside of work, Dr. Müller-Oehring enjoys nature, being around horses, running, hiking, and skiing in California and the Alps, and summitting Mount Whitney with her family.

Joe Winer, PhD
Instructor

Joe Winer completed his PhD in Psychology at UC Berkeley, where he combined objective and subjective sleep assessment with PET imaging to investigate connections between sleep disruption and Alzheimer's disease in healthy aging. Since joining the Poston Lab in 2021, Joe’s research has explored how tracking sleep and other factors in everyday life can provide information about brain health and cognitive trajectories in aging and neurodegenerative diseases. 

Christina B. Young, PhD
Instructor

Dr. Christina B. Young received her BS in Psychology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She then went on to graduate school at Northwestern University and obtained a MS and PhD in Clinical Psychology, specializing in Neuropsychology, as well as an additional MS in Statistics. During her graduate school training, she received two grants from the National Science Foundation, which promoted her research and allowed her to spend one year at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour in the Netherlands. She completed her clinical internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Psychiatry Department at Stanford before joining the Poston Lab in January 2020.

Christina is interested in using multimodal imaging approaches, including fMRI, MRI and PET, to investigate neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms in neurodegenerative diseases. She aims to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying these symptoms with the ultimate goal of identifying clinically applicable biomarkers. Outside of the lab, she loves dogs, especially her two dogs - Clark and Addison, is active in the shelter community, and plays basketball.

Alena Smith
Research Data Analyst

Alena graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and minor in Business Administration. During her time as an undergraduate research assistant at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, Alena learned to blend her experiences as an artist and scientist to investigate the neurological correlates of creativity. She is excited to apply these understandings and learn more about the cognitive changes associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Alena is passionate about empirically connecting PD pathology to patient anecdotes of sudden bursts of artistic creativity. Above all, she is driven to better understand the symptomatic and neurophysiological bases of PD to help develop more effective treatments. She hopes to pursue graduate education where she can obtain greater clarity in her role as a researcher and artist. Outside of research, Alena spends her time painting and drawing. She runs her own small art business and hosts annual art shows to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation. 

Elnaz Ghasemi
Research Data Analyst

Elnaz received her B.A.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto. During her undergraduate studies, she completed the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech). She was also selected as one of the five international engineers/scientists to participate in a two-week simulated Mars mission as a crew engineer. After her engineering studies, she worked with different technology startups and in the film and theatre industry.

Her involvement in an artificial cognition project spiked her interest to learn about the neural basis of natural cognition that inspires AI. Since then, she has completed some neuroscience studies and has helped with several cognitive neuroscience projects at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Psychology Department to enhance her knowledge in the field. Her recent research topics include: neural basis of risky decision making, executive function deficits in children with genetic disorders, and the effects of attention lapsing on recognition memory. She is currently working as a Research Data Analyst in the Poston lab and is responsible for analyzing MR scans of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

When not analyzing brain data, she enjoys travelling and spending time with her family. Her hobbies include exploring nature, practicing yoga, skiing, swimming, oil painting and playing the piano.

Jonathan Liu
Clinical Research Coordinator

Jonathan graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2024 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Music. During his undergraduate years, he worked as a research assistant in the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab. Under the mentorship of Dr. Srishti Nayak, he studied the implications of speech and musical rhythm perception on adult reading abilities, coalescing his interests in music, language, and the brain. While concurrently working as an EMT in California and Tennessee, Jonathan encountered patients from diverse medical backgrounds and was particularly struck by the pervasiveness of movement and memory disorders. He joined the Poston Lab in hopes that his efforts in clinical research may someday rewrite the narrative for patients he once cared for in the back of an ambulance. Jonathan is currently coordinating a biomarker study in Parkinson’s disease and plans to eventually pursue a career in medicine. In his free time, he enjoys reading, going on walks, and playing the piano and clarinet.

Daria Shariff
Clinical Research Coordinator

Daria graduated from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) with a B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. She is interested in understanding brain function and dysfunction, such as with psychological and neurological disorders. In the Pelham Lab at UCSD, she conducted research in psychopathology with a focus on trauma and substance use. She was also involved in a study at the HIV Institute examining the effects of HIV, adversity, and cannabis use on neurocognition.

In the Poston Lab, she is excited to integrate her prior research in psychopathology with her passion for neurological disorders. She is currently working on a project that aims to understand neurocognitive changes in HIV and Parkinson's disease. She believes the profundity of studying the brain is most compelling when considering the impacts of such disorders, and she plans to pursue a career in clinical neuroscience and psychology. Apart from research, Daria enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. Her recent summer trips abroad were to Mexico, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Noah Siddiqui
Clinical Research Coordinator

Noah graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in neuroscience. His undergraduate research focused on indirect, immune-regulated communication between the gut and the brain. While working as a research assistant at the University of Colorado, he worked to develop a behavioral model of cognitive impairment in sepsis-associated encephalopathy. Noah joined the Poston Lab excited to combine his preclinical background with his passion for clinical neuroscience and the improvement of care for patients with neurodegenerative disease. He is currently coordinating a gut-brain biomarker study in Parkinson’s disease and plans to pursue a career in clinical psychology. Noah’s time outside the lab is spent hiking, fishing, golfing and playing the guitar.

Kevin Zheng
Research Data Analyst

Kevin graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a B.S. in Biology before pursuing a Master’s in Health Data Science at the University of California, San Francisco. During his studies, Kevin conducted research under Dr. John Kornak and the UCSF Breast Imaging Research Group. His focus was on applying machine learning and statistical methodologies to interpret radiological data and related tabular information.

Kevin is currently working as a Data Analyst in the Poston Lab, where he continues to merge his interests in biology and data analysis to advance neuroscience research. Outside the lab, he spends his free time mountain biking and backpacking, embracing his love for the outdoors.

Veronica Ramirez
Clinical Research Manager

Veronica Ramirez is a research assistant for the Clinical Core of the Stanford ADRC. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of New Orleans. As an undergraduate at the University of New Orleans, she worked as a lab assistant in the department of psychology. After receiving her bachelor’s, she worked as a psychometrist and Clinical Research Coordinator at a private neuropsychology practice in New Orleans. Much of her work has involved research in behavioral neurology and forensic neuropsychology.

Larissa Gomez Castro
Clinical Research Coordinator

Before joining the ADRC and LB-SPARK at Stanford, Larissa received her B.S. in Anthropology from University of California, Davis in 2023. During her time at UC Davis, she was a part of the Pre-Med American Medical Student Association board and was also an intern at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center under Dr. Carbajal for Intestinal Metaplasia research. She also volunteered two summers in Cusco, Peru and Riobamba, Ecuador where she partnered up with local physicians and assisted medically underserved indigenous communities. Larissa also worked as a home health aide for U.S. veterans with Parkinson’s disease, Dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. After working several years with patients with neurodegenerative diseases, she felt it was time to contribute to research to advance science and help people with neurodegenerative diseases. Larissa hopes to attend medical school and continue her passion in medicine to further help underserved communities.

Ava Belzer
Clinical Research Coordinator

Ava received her Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2024. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked as a student research assistant in the Mindfulness Emotion Thought Awareness (META) Lab under Dr. Jonathan Schooler. There, she studied a handful of topics, including curiosity and mindfulness. In Santa Barbara, Ava also volunteered at Sanctuary Centers, a psychiatric hospital, where she worked closely with individuals struggling with psychiatric and mood disorders in order to help them find jobs and volunteer activities in the local community. Through her undergraduate education and extracurriculars, Ava continued to develop her interest in neuroscience and is excited to contribute to the work in the Poston Lab to further the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine where she can continue her studies of the brain and develop her patient care skills. Outside of the lab, Ava enjoys practicing yoga, going on walks, and trying new restaurants.

T’Lesa Meadowcroft
Clinical Research Coordinator

T’Lesa Meadowcroft earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She worked as a research assistant in psychology and, after graduation in 2010, as a neuropsychometrist at the University of Utah Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research.  In 2015, she became a Certified Specialist in Psychometry and moved to Stanford Health Care as a clinical psychometrist, before joining us at the ADRC and Pacific Udall Center.

Carla Abdelnour, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Carla Abdelnour received her medical degree at the Central University of Venezuela, and then completed her neurology residency training at the University Hospital Príncipe de Asturias in Madrid, Spain. She conducted her doctorate in Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona working with Drs. Dag Aarsland, Javier Pagonabarraga and Jaime Kulisevsky. Her thesis focused on the influence of Alzheimer´s disease copathology in atrophy patterns, longitudinal cognitive decline, and heterogeneity of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies.

Carla's main interest is the study of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Lewy body disease. As a Sue Berghoff LBD Research Fellow, her plan is to investigate the impact of different comorbidities in the clinical presentation, cognitive profile, and disease progression of Lewy body disease. Additionally, she wants to study the biological underpinnings of prodromal Lewy body disease to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. She was member of the steering committee of the European dementia with Lewy bodies consortium (E-DLB), and is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Lewy Body Dementia Association.

Outside the lab, you will find Carla learning new things and adding hobbies to her list. In particular, she likes travelling, making her own clothes, and is currently learning to play the guitar.

Dimuthu Hemachandra, PhD, MSc
Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Dimuthu Hemachandra, originally from Sri Lanka, kickstarted his academic journey with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics from the University of Peradeniya. He later moved to Canada, where he earned an Master’s of Science in Astrophysics from the University of Western Ontario, focusing on studying the Andromeda Galaxy using infrared spectroscopy and space-based telescopes. With an aim to apply his scientific skills to improve human well-being, he transitioned from Astrophysics to Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience. Dr. Hemachandra joined the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario in 2018 as a Researcher where he completed his PhD at the Khan Computational Imaging Lab. Dr. Hemachandra’s research interests focus on utilizing machine learning techniques to investigate subcortical brain structures and connectivity, aiming to detect neurodegenerative diseases early on. Passionate about open and collaborative science, Dr. Hemachandra believes in the power of sharing knowledge and working together for progress. In his free time, he enjoys exploring new places, capturing moments with his camera, social dancing, and playing the guitar.

Sara Lorkiewicz, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Lorkiewicz holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Molecular Biology and Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She combined both disciplines for her master’s thesis where she studied cognitive correlates of alcohol use in people with HIV-infection at Boston University School of Medicine. She later completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology at Palo Alto University where she continued to explore clinical and research interests in the neurocognitive sequelae of substance use, HIV, and neurodegenerative diseases. During her clinical fellowship in Neuropsychology, she specialized in the evaluation of individuals with complex neurological and neurogenerative diseases at the Michael E. DeBakey VAMC and worked collaboratively with researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston to study older adults with HIV as well as cognitive fluctuations in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases.

In the Poston Lab, Dr. Lorkiewicz plans to expand her understanding of neurocognition by studying neurobiological correlates of cognitive change. She is specifically interested in identifying early neuroimaging biomarkers of movement disorders and other neurodegenerative processes that may predict disease progression, nuanced patterns of cognitive impairment, and transition to more severe forms of dementia to inform intervention strategies. Outside of the lab, Dr. Lorkiewicz enjoys traveling and outdoor activities such as running, hiking, or skiing. She can often be found playing with her dog and cat and loves spending time with friends and family.