Katelyn Ke
B.S. | Clinical Research Volunteer
kwke@uci.edu
I graduated from UCI in 2020 with a B.S in Biological Sciences and since joining Dr. Sajjadi’s lab, I have developed an interest in studying out how different pathologies contribute to a decline in cognition. Joining the Resilience Project, I am focused on understanding how cognitive decline occurs over different stages of adult life. I would love to pursue a career in medicine but in my free time, I enjoy reading and hanging out with friends.
Zainab Khan
MS1 | Clinical Research Volunteer
khanz1@uci.edu
In 2018, I joined Dr. Sajjadi’s lab as an undergraduate research assistant because of my interest in neurodegenerative brain diseases. I was amazed to see the application of the science from my classes to the research within the lab. Working in the Sajjadi Lab has provided me with the opportunity to analyze MRI scans and understand biomarkers involved with categorizing Hippocampal Sclerosis of Aging. I assisted with the publication Utility of MRI in Identification of Atrophy in Hippocampal Sclerosis of Aging and publication of two abstracts. After graduating with my degree in Neurobiology in 2020, I began working on projects on the topic of Primary Progressive Aphasia. An abstract I assisted with Utility of Linguistic Biomarkers for prediction of cognitive impairment and limbic predominant age related TDP-43 neuropathologic change in the oldest old was selected as a poster presentation at Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2022. My hobbies include baking, hiking, and reading mystery novels.
Danielle Mook
B.A. | Clinical Research Volunteer
mookd@uci.edu
I joined the Sajjadi Lab in September 2022 as a postbaccalaureate student. In the lab, I
have been leading a project focused on utilizing linguistic biomarkers as a way to
predict cognitive impairment and LATE-NC in the oldest-old. I have also been helping
out with other small projects in the lab in addition to volunteering with The 90+ Study.
My ultimate goal is to get my PhD in Neuroscience and hopefully work at the NIH
someday!
Rojan Javaheri
B.S. | Clinical Research Volunteer
javaherr@hs.uci.edu
I graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Neuroscience with departmental honors and a minor in Piano Performance. My honors thesis focused on the impact of sex steroid hormones on Alzheimer’s pathology, for which I presented findings at the National Diversity in STEM 2023 Conference. To apply my understanding of dementia to clinical settings, I joined the Sajjadi Lab in 2021 and worked on the Limbic Predominant Age-Related TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE) projects. My current work focuses on using machine learning to analyze patient speech samples for dementia detection as well as understanding inflammatory processes in dementia for individuals over 90 years old. In the future, I plan to attend medical school and am interested in pursuing neurology or surgery.