Dr. Valerie Block - fellow

Dr. Block trained as a physical therapist (PT) in Barcelona (Spain), then practiced as a neuro PT clinician until 2013. She completed her doctorate at UCSF/SFSU in 2016. During her first postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Gelfand, she carried out a longitudinal observational study (FITriMS), evaluating the utility of continuous physical activity monitoring in people with MS to determine patient function and predict clinical changes. Dr. Block is currently funded by an NMSS Career Transition Award, working with Dr. Bove to identify the best digital tools to remotely monitor bladder and walking difficulties in people with MS. Her publication record can be found here.

Dr. Wan-Yu Hsu – fellow

Wan-Yu received her PhD in Brain Science in 2014 and did her post-doctoral training in Neuroscape lab at UCSF. Before joining the Bove Lab in 2019, she was a clinical scientist at Halo Neuroscience, Inc. She’s interested in neuromodulation and developing novel neuro-technology-based approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of people living with MS. Dr Hsu is currently funded through an NMSS Fellowship. Her research work can be found here.

Dr. Alyssa Nylander – fellow

Alyssa studied biology and neuroscience at Harvard College, where she graduated cum laude in 2008. She earned her MD and PhD in the MSTP program at Yale University, where she completed her graduate work in the lab of Dr. David Hafler and graduated in 2017. She completed her neurology residency training at UCSF in 2021. She is board-certified in Neurology and is currently a UCSF Neuroimmunology translational research fellow. Dr. Nylander is currently funded through an NMSS Clinician Scientist Award. Her research focus is on cognition and remyelination in multiple sclerosis and pre-clinical MS models.

Arpita Gopal, DPT - graduate student

Arpita studied neuroscience at UCSD before earning a DPT from UCSF/SFSU in 2019. She is pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Science with an emphasis on Clinically Informed Neurosciences. Arpita’s thesis focuses on the assessment of hand function and dexterity in people with MS. She is interested in neurotechnology, remote monitoring tools, and wearable devices. Outside of the lab, she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, yoga, and a good thriller novel! Her publication record can be found here. Other links: LinkedIn, Twitter

Helga Taylor, MD - graduate student

Dr. Taylor trained as a clinician in Romania at the University Of Medicine And Pharmacy of Tirgu-Mures. After receiving her MD degree, she is now pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical Research at UCSF. Dr. Taylor joined the Bove Lab in August 2020. She is working with Dr. Bove on a pilot study exploring the influence of exogenous hormones, menstrual cycle, and birth control on Multiple Sclerosis symptoms in women (MenseS). She is also involved in various other projects within the Bove Lab that aim to improve clinical care while developing her skills in research design, statistical analysis, and leadership.

Narender Sara - lead software engineer

Narender received a Master’s in Computer Science from Saint Joseph’s University in 2013 and an MBA in Information Technology from Goldey-Beacom in 2018. He joined the Bove Lab in summer 2022 as a technical lead for BRIDGE, a precision medicine platform integrated with the electronic health record, and Open MS BioScreen, an openly available application for tracking and understanding Multiple Sclerosis. Narender is interested in advancing digital health care platforms and developing software for clinicians and patients. Other links: LinkedIn

Nicolette Miller - software engineer

Nicolette received her BS in Computer Science from UC Santa Cruz in 2019. She joined the Bove Lab in 2020 and is currently working on BRIDGE, a precision medicine platform integrated with the electronic health record, and Open MS BioScreen, an openly available application for tracking and understanding Multiple Sclerosis. Nicolette is interested in the intersection of healthcare and technology, and loves working on such impactful applications. Other links: LinkedIn, Github

Shane Poole - bioinformatics engineer

Shane studied computer science at 42 Silicon Valley, finishing in 2020 after working as a chemist with the EPA for three years. He completed his undergrad with a BS in Biotechnology from the University of Houston. Shane joined the Bove lab in December 2020 and is working on projects in clinical data management and exploration. He is interested in the application of computational techniques to increase clinical understanding, novel therapeutic targets, and patient outcomes for genetic diseases. His publication record can be found here. Other links: LinkedIn

Jim Rowson - expert volunteer

Jim Rowson received his PhD in Computer Science from Caltech in 1980. He has a 40 year career developing and shipping software in both Electronic Design Automation and the web. He retired in 2022 from YouTube where he was part of the team that recommends videos for the YouTube homepage. Jim is volunteering in the hope of helping researchers in Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases.

Annika Anderson - research coordinator

Annika received a BA in Neurobiology and Gender and Women’s Studies from UC Berkeley in 2018. She joined the Bove Lab in the summer of 2018 and is currently working on projects in hormone and gender-based approaches to care in the MS community. She is interested in the intersections of gender and health. Her publication record can be found here.

Jaeleene Wijangco - junior specialist

Jaeleene graduated UC Davis in September 2021 with a BS in Cognitive Neuroscience, along with a minor in Psychology. She began working in the Bove lab in May 2022 and is responsible for various digital health projects to help improve treatment and screening for Multiple Sclerosis patients. She is interested in studying neurodegenerative diseases and hopes to study Neuropsychology in the future.

Kanishka Koshalprogram manager

Kanishka received her BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) from Institute of Dental Sciences, India. An interest in population health and preventive care led her to pursue an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She joined UCSF in 2018 and has worked with various clinical and research teams since. She is currently responsible for end-to-end project management of the BRIDGE and DeepNeuro Projects. In her free time, she enjoys travel and yoga.

Kyra Hendersonjunior specialist

Kyra received a BA in Neurobiology and a minor in Global Public Health from UC Berkeley in 2022. She joined the Bove Lab in the summer of 2022 and is currently working on projects in digital health approaches to care for the MS community. She is interested in the use of technology to track disease progression and make chronic illnesses more manageable.

Stephanie Hsuresearch coordinator

Stephanie received her BA in Economics from Columbia University in 2019. She joined the Bove Lab in the summer of 2022 and is working on projects in hormone and gender-based care for patients with MS.

Denisse

Denisse received her B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Health and Society from the University of Chicago in 2021. She joined the Bove Lab in 2022 and is interested in the influence of gender and hormones on myelin repair and patient experience. Outside of lab, she enjoys playing the violin, long runs, and a good romance novel.

Anne Marie Radzik

Hannah Silverman

Seyvonne Ip

Jocelyn Chu 

MTM Students

Four talented Masters in Translational Medicine Program students (2016-2017) worked on Open MS BioScreen as their Capstone project. Christine Rachel Joseph focused on  ethical and social implications. Zian 'Zane' Liu focused on regulatory compliance and IP, identifying strategies that would mitigate regulatory burden. Stephanie Nemec's focus was enhancing user interaction. And Arash Nourian tackled architecture development.

Fung Fellowship Students

Four UC Berkeley students with diverse backgrounds were embedded in our group as part of the Fung Fellowship for Wellness and Technology Innovation: Apollo Jain, Megha Majumder, Alankrita Dayal, and Joshua Price (left to right). They share a collective vision of leveraging technological advancements to improve diagnosis and treatment processes for patients and are each individually committed to applying their particular skillsets to push this vision into reality.