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.

Sasha Milton, BA

Research Coordinator

Sasha is a research coordinator working with Dr. Leng at UCSF. He graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology. At MoonLAIT, Sasha contributes to STAI-SHARP and other ongoing projects led by Dr. Leng. His current projects include an investigation of the association between markers of autonomic dysfunction and risk of Parkinson's disease and a study of longitudinal changes in sleep and their link to cognitive impairment.

In his free time, Sasha enjoys playing music with his band, Elevation 404. He is also an avid backpacker, and has hiked large portions of the Pacific Crest Trail, which he hopes to complete in the future.

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.

Jiawen Chen, MPH

Data Assistant Specialist

Jiawen is a Data Assistant Specialist working with Dr. Leng at UCSF. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Medicine in China, she completed an MPH degree in Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale University.  Her research at MoonLAIT focuses on the association between life-course sleep and cognitive impairment, working with multi-cohort longitudinal data.

Outside of work, Jiawen enjoys hiking and playing badminton. She is also a passionate foodie who loves to cook and occasionally cause some chaos in the kitchen.

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.

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.