Open Positions

Postdotoral Position

Job Summary

The selected candidate will participate in projects that focus on establishing MRI protocols with cutting-edge methodologies and applying advanced neuroimaging techniques, such as structural and functional MRI, tractography, graph theory analysis, and machine learning algorithms to a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), in the context of diverse populations, bilingualism, and cross-linguistic studies. Details on the projects are listed below. The candidate will have the opportunity to be involved in a translational research project, work closely with the current members of the team, and contribute to our empirical efforts to further our understanding of the neurobiology of language.

Laboratory Description 

The mission of the Tee Lab is to encourage equal representation from diverse populations worldwide in cognitive and dementia research, which would greatly enhance our neuroscientific understanding to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The Tee Lab aims to address current calls for culturally and linguistically appropriate cognitive assessment tests, stimulate the development of novel tests for syndromic differentiation in different languages, and enhance our understanding to various neural mechanism by promoting language diversity in cognitive research. Our lab has collaboration with scientists and researchers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India and Turkey, aiming to delineate the neural mechanism of bilingualism and dementia syndromes through cross-linguistic perspectives, promote language diversity in cognitive research and offer equitable care for speakers of different languages. 

Listed below are some of the projects the Tee Lab is leading: 

  • Multilingualism in socio-demographically and linguistically diverse populations (MULTIVERSE) study: The MULTIVERSE research project, which is co-led by Drs. Boon Lead Tee of UCSF, Suvarna Alladi of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Sid O’Bryant of University of North Texas Health Science Center, and Ganesh Babulal of University of Washington, focuses on studying the role of bilingualism in cognitive reserve through three socio-demographically and linguistically diverse cohorts: Chinese Americans, Mexican Americans, and Indians. In this recently funded R01 project, the University of California, San Francisco, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, and the Health and Aging Brain-Health Disparities study joint effort to assemble one of the largest, multicultural, multilingual, and well-characterized cohort of 2,200 individuals to build a theoretical framework for bilingualism and cognitive reserve. Dr. Maria Luisa Mandelli is leading the MRI analysis of this project at UCSF. 
  • Examining normative heterogeneity of aging and neurodegeneration in Chinese elders study (ENHANCE) study The Tee lab has submitted a R01 project together with Dr. Clara Li from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) that received favorable score, This project aims to develop a culturally and linguistically-appropriate NACC UDS assessment battery for older Chinese Americans across the US.  The PIs (Li & Tee) have successful and longstanding track records of engaging older Chinese Americans in AD/ADRD research, and they have jointly created a registry of over 600 Chinese American older adults at the UCSF and Mount Sinai. Leveraging the existing Chinese American cohorts and ADRC research infrastructure, the study team will validate two written (Simplified and Traditional Chinese) and two spoken Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) versions of the NACC UDS assessment battery that are culturally and linguistically relevant to older Chinese Americans. Dr. La Joie will be leading the imaging data collection and analysis of this project. 
  • Asian Cohort for Alzheimer’s and Dementia (ACAD) study: Our lab is a major contributor to the ACAD study, which is being led by Dr. Li San Wang of UPENN. ACAD was funded in 2019 with an R56 to establish a North American cohort of 500 individuals from East Asian backgrounds to understand genetic risks and other features of cognitive impairment in these populations. During the current pilot phase, our team helped to shape the testing battery for this study, and recruited roughly 120 participants. Recently, this project received a U19 funding. As this project enters its next phase, UCSF will be recuiting 600 participants (total of 6,000 participants across 8 sites) and Dr. Tee will lead the ACAD training core.  
  • Chinese Language Assessment for Primary Progressive Aphasia (CLAP) study: The CLAP research project which is supported by NIA/NIH and Alzheimer’s Association grants, focuses on the Chinese-speaking population that suffers from Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a debilitating and fatal neurodegenerative disease that manifests predominantly with speech and language deficits. The CLAP project brought together clinicians, researchers and speech language pathologist from U.S., Taiwan and Hong Kong to establish a Chinese-speaking PPA cohort with clinical, linguistic, and neuroimaging data. To date, we have recruited 111 participants and this project was also recently awarded a grant from Alzheimer’s association to examine the efficacy of linguistically tailored speech therapies.  

Department Description 

The UCSF Department of Neurology brings together world-class researchers and physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human brain. The Department’s mission is to deliver superb patient care, to apply state-of-the-art translational research methods to discover the causes of and treatments for human nervous system disorders, and to educate each generation of medical students, neurology residents, and postdoctoral fellows. By fostering cross-disciplinary interactions among scientists around the world, we accelerate the pace of discovery and champion the University's global health initiatives. 

Required qualifications:  

  • Ph.D. in a related science area such as neurology, radiology, neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or a related discipline. 
  • Previous work experience with MRI and/or PET data collection and analysis.  
  • Familiarity with existing neuroimaging tools such as SPM, Freesurfer, AFNI, FSL. 
  • Familiarity with at least one programming or scripting languages such as Matlab, Python, and R. 
  • Strong writing skills demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications. 
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-based environment. 

Preferred qualifications:  

  • Familiarity and experience with any of the following will be a plus: connectomics, tractography, functional MRI, MRI data harmonization, bilingualism and cross-linguistic studies, and dementia studies 
  • Experience with bioinformatics, biostatistics, and/or machine learning. 
  • Proficiency in Mandarin, and/or Cantonese. 

To apply, please send a cover letter describing interests and relevant prior experience, a CV, and 3 names of potential references to [email protected], [email protected]