People

Dr. Leng is an associate professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. She completed her undergraduate degree at Sun Yat-Sen University School of Medicine before earning her PhD in epidemiology at Cambridge University. At UCSF, she completed her postdoctoral training in sleep and neurodegeneration before joining the faculty.

As an internationally-trained epidemiologist, Dr. Leng is interested in studying the link between sleep and neurodegeneration in older adults. Her research focuses on the link between lifecourse sleep and cognitive decline (supported by an NIH R01 award), the development of digital biomarkers for neurodegenerative disease prediction (supported by an NIH R21 award), and the relationship between napping, sleep, circadian rhythms and risk of neurodegenerative diseases (supported by an NIH R00 award).

Outside the lab, Dr. Leng enjoys playing the drums. As she also likes to practice lucid dreaming, Dr. Leng's interest in sleep goes beyond research.

UCSF Profile

Yi Fang, MD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Yi is a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Leng at UCSF. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and an MD degree, and has finished neurology residency training, all at Zhejiang University in China. At MoonLAlT, her research focuses on the link between life course sleep and neurodegeneration.

In her free time, she enjoys fitness training, hiking, and more recently, horseback travels.

Christina Kushnir, MS

Staff Research Associate

Tina graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in Psychological and Brain Sciences, before earning a master’s degree from University College London (UCL), where her thesis specialized in drug target Mendelian randomization. At MoonLAIT, Tina oversees administrative workflow and contributes to ongoing studies in the lab. Her current research focuses on gene-environment interactions and neurodegenerative disease.

In her free time, Tina enjoys listening to music on long walks, knitting, and getting back to Santa Barbara when she can for the lovely rose garden.

Alice Albrecht, MS

Data Assistant Specialist

Alice earned a Bachelor of Science in Life Science Engineering and a Master of Science specialized in Computational Neurosciences, both from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. She completed her master’s thesis at Harvard Medical School. As a Data Assistant Specialist, her work includes analysis of large-scale population and clinical datasets, such as polysomnography and electronic health records.

Outside the lab, she loves being active and spending time outdoors, whether it’s hiking, trail running, climbing, camping, or practicing contemporary dance, gymnastics, and yoga.

Jiong Chen

Visiting PhD student

Jiong Chen is a doctoral student at the Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center. He holds a bachelor's degree in Medical Information Management and Information Systems from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. As a visiting student at MoonLAIT, his research focuses on on identifying digital sleep biomarkers for adverse health outcomes including neurodegenerative diseases.

Outside of his research work, Jon enjoys a variety of sports, such as fitness training, basketball, and boxing.

Xing Xu, MD

Visiting scholar

Xing Xu is an attending neurologist at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in China, with clinical expertise in sleep disorders and headache. She received her MD and is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Neurology at Soochow University. As a visiting scholar at MoonLAIT, her research focuses on the relationship between sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and listening to music.

Rafael Branco

Undergraduate student

Rafael is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying Psychology and Education. As a volunteer, he contributes to MoonLAIT’s ongoing research into mapping the relationship between sleep and neurodegeneration through digital biomarkers. As someone with close family experience with neurodegenerative disease, participation at MoonLAIT is extremely meaningful to him.

In his free time, Rafael loves to paint, listen to far too many podcasts, and explore nature.

Gabriela Zdunek, MD

Volunteer

Gabriela is a medical doctor with a degree from the Medical University of Warsaw. At MoonLAIT, she contributes to research exploring how sleep and circadian health influence cognitive and neurodegenerative processes. Her broader research interests include behavioral genetics and mental health. In her free time, Gabriela enjoys outdoor activities, running, and cooking.
 

Ayse Kamaci, MS

Volunteer

Ayse earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from New York University and a Master of Science in Neuroscience from King’s College London. At MoonLAIT, her research focuses on examining the relationship between sleep metrics and MRI-derived brain age using AI and machine learning approaches.

Outside the lab, Ayse loves to travel, discover new music, and try out different arts and crafts.

Hannah Yang

Volunteer

Hannah graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in Psychology and Art. As a MoonLAIT volunteer, she is interested in the impact of seasonality and lifestyle habits on sleep architecture and quality. 

In her spare time, Hannah enjoys watching shows/movies, drawing, and bouldering. 

Aaron Pickerign

Volunteer

Aaron earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, graduating with honors from San José State University. His academic interests center on cognition and memory, and how they are affected by sleep. As a research assistant at MoonLAIT, his work includes data extraction, cleaning, and preparation of datasets for analysis.

Outside of research, he enjoys narrative-focused games, music, reading, and board games.

San (Eddie) Linn, MD

Volunteer

Eddie is a physician graduated from the University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar, and is currently completing a primary care internal medicine residency at North East Medical Services in the Bay Area, where he cares for a largely underserved patient population. As a volunteer researcher at the MoonLAIT lab, he has contributed to research exploring the relationship between sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. He is pursuing a sleep medicine fellowship with the goal of uncovering the hidden burden of sleep disorders and driving innovation in sleep medicine.
 

In his free time, Eddie enjoys golfing, working out, and learning new languages.

Nicole Fernandez

UCSF Student

Nicole is a medical student at UCSF in the SJV PRIME program. Previously, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from Arizona State University. At MoonLAIT, her research is focused on understanding how age modifies the association between sleep and neurodegeneration.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys reading, running, puzzles, and movies.

Emma Chang

UCSF Student

Emma earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science with a minor in Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Health Data Science at the University of California, San Francisco. As part of her Master's capstone, she is working with the MoonLAIT lab, where her work focuses on investigating the effects of sleep medications on neurodegenerative diseases using target trial emulation.

In her free time, Emma enjoys playing badminton, exploring the city, listening to music, and playing games.