Elizabeth Rose Mayeda (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Dr. Mayeda's research focuses on identifying modifiable determinants of cognitive decline, dementia, and stroke in late life. Her research program has both applied and methodological themes. She focuses on describing and identifying mechanisms contributing to disparities in late-life cognitive and brain health. She also leads work addressing methodological challenges in longitudinal studies of stroke, cognitive aging, and dementia risk. Her long-term research goals are to: (1) identify effective population-level strategies to prevent dementia and eliminate disparities in dementia and (2) develop research tools to strengthen causal inference in dementia research and lifecourse epidemiology.

Dr. Mayeda serves on the leadership committees of the Methods in Longitudinal Research on Dementia (MELODEM) Initiative and the Advanced Psychometrics Methods in Cognitive Aging Conference. She is recognized as an emerging leader in the fields of dementia and epidemiology: in 2019, she served as a member of the Health Disparities Session of the NIH Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias Summit and gave an NIH Rising Star Invited Lecture, and in 2020, she received the Society for Epidemiologic Research Brian MacMahon Early Career Award.

Dr. Mayeda received her BA in Integrative Biology and Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, her MPH in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and her PhD in Epidemiology and Translational Science from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA in 2018, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.

Joseph completed his MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Arizona in 2020. His research interests include social determinants of health and their impact on aging, especially among minority populations. His previous research experience includes work with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center in Sacramento, CA as well as the Imaging of Dementia and Aging (IDeA) Lab in Davis, CA. In his free time, Joseph enjoys photography and baking bread. 

Natalie received her MPH in Epidemiology from UCLA in 2023. Her research interests include social determinants of healthy aging and the impact of health disparities on cognitive decline. In her spare time, she enjoys running, collaging, and spending time with her cats.

Eleanor’s research is at the intersection of neurologic and psychiatric epidemiology, with a strong emphasis on causal inference methods. Her work includes investigation of drivers of disparities in cognitive aging over the lifecourse, and the use of simulations to understand sources and magnitude of bias in effect estimates. Prior to joining the Mayeda group, Eleanor earned her PhD in epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and her MPH from the Yale School of Public Health.

Paloma’s work focuses on how to extend the target trial framework and causal inference methods to study social determinants and cardiometabolic disorders in aging related outcomes, with a special interest in selection bias and competing events. She received her PhD degree in Epidemiology at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands, her MSc in Clinical Research at the Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires and her Specialization in Statistics for Health Sciences at Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina. She is originally from La Paz - Bolivia, where obtained her medical degree in Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. 

Ryo is currently a PhD student in Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He obtained his MD degree from the University of Tokyo, Japan. His research interests include causal inference, social determinants of health, and health services research.

Taylor is a PhD student in Epidemiology at UCLA. They are broadly interested in understanding mechanisms through which structural factors such as social policies impact health across the lifecourse. Since joining the Mayeda Research Group in 2018, their work has focused on the effect of early and mid-life social exposures on mid- and late-life mental and cognitive health. Taylor holds an MPH in Epidemiology from UCLA.

Yingyan is currently a PhD student in Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She is interested in causal inference and cognitive aging, especially the effects of social factors and co-morbidity on dementia. She obtained her BMS degree in Preventive Medicine from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2019 and MS degree in Epidemiology from UCLA.

Yixuan is currently a PhD student in Biostatistics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her  research interests include clinical study design, survival analysis, and Bayesian methods. Before coming to UCLA, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Statistics at University of Toronto in 2020.

Adiba is a PhD student in Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Adiba’s research interest is in methodology for causal inference and minimizing risk of cognitive decline among marginalized population. Prior to UCLA she worked on research characterizing the HIV genetic transmission network, and conducting monitoring, evaluation and surveillance of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Adiba has been recognized as a 2023 National Veterans Leadership Fellow and as a 2020 Tillman Scholar for her work in public health and serving the veteran community.  In her time off, she coaches and competes in beach volleyball tournaments, and loves to dance salsa and bachata.

Adiba received her BA in Biology from Clark University, MSPH in International Health and Tropical Medicine from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical medicine, and MPH in Epidemiology from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Gina is a PhD student in Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her current research focuses on understanding the association between cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in racially and diverse populations. Gina received a BS in biochemistry and a BA in Japanese from the University of Utah. She completed her MPH in Epidemiology at UCLA FSPH. In her spare time, she explores the LA and Irvine restaurant scene with her food club members.

Layla is an undergraduate student majoring in Biology and minoring in Chicana and Chicano Studies. She hopes to attend medical school in the future and complete a dual degree through an MD/MPH program. In her free time Layla enjoys long distance running with UCLA Club Track  & Field, participating in the Student Wellness Commission BruiNecessities, and watching movies with friends.