Shea Andrews, PhD
Assistant Adjunct Professor | Psychiatry
Dr. Shea Andrews is a genetic epidemiologist who is interested in the role of social, environmental, and genetic drivers of health in Alzheimer's disease. He completed his PhD in Medical Sciences at the Australian National University in 2016 under the supervision of Professor Simon Eastel and Professor Kaarin Anstey. This was followed by a short postdoctoral position with Dr. Anstey. In 2018, he joined the lab of Dr. Alison Goate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2022, he started a faculty position at the University of California San Francisco.
Ana Boeriu, MS
Data Analyst
Ana is a graduate from University of California, Davis where she studied Statistics and pursued a Master of Science in Biostatistics. For her master’s thesis she analyzed a data set from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) with the objective of understanding how demographic, genetic, cognitive, and functional variables may influence the presence of amyloid, a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Her interests are in studying neurodegenerative diseases and identifing ways to improve data quality by automating data processing tasks, combining a natural affinity for data analysis with a keen ability to suggest opportunities to develop precision medicine approaches for Alzheimer’s treatment and neurodegenerative disease. Now is the time to continue innovation and discovery using data to apply innovative methods involving data science, machine learning, predictive analysis, statistics, and genetics. With the increased use of data science algorithms and advanced analytics, data allows Ana to make connections, find patterns and draw conclusions that she couldn’t otherwise.
Aadrita Chatterjee, BA
Staff Research Associate
Aadrita is a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley where she majored in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in neurobiology. Her interests primarily lie in studying neurological diseases and neurodegeneration. Aadrita initially joined as a volunteer in the lab working on a Mendelian Randomization project looking at the effect of education and participation bias on Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, as a Staff Research Associate, she also works on a project looking at mitochondrial copy number as a biomarker for AD.
Rakshya Ujhanthachhen Sharma, BS
Bioinformatician
Rakshya earned her bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a minor in Bioinformatics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is interested in applying computational tools to biomedical research, especially in understanding genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. Rakshya focuses on developing scalable, reproducible pipelines for analyzing large genomic datasets. She is passionate about bioinformatics as a way to explore complex traits like Alzheimer's disease. Currently, she works on integrating polygenic risk scores and genomic data into workflows to support Alzheimer's disease research.
Meri Okorie
PhD student
Meri earned her bachelor's degree in biotechnology with a focus in cellular, molecular, and microbial biology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is currently a student in the PSPG program, working in the Shea Andrews and Jen Yokoyama lab. Her research focuses on understanding how genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic determinants interplay in Alzheimer’s disease across Black, Hispanic, and White populations. In her free time, Meri enjoys exploring different parks with her dog, spending time with her friends, and baking bread.