Han Research Lab

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR

S. Duke Han, PhD, ABPP-CN

Duke Han, PhD, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Director of the Neuropsychology Division in Family Medicine, and a tenured Professor of Family Medicine, Neurology, Psychology, and Gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a specialization in Neuroscience from Duke University, and his PhD Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He received training in clinical neuropsychology and experimental neuroimaging techniques through various programs of Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital. He continued his clinical neuropsychology and neuroimaging activities during his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship years at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the San Diego VA Healthcare System. He maintains an active research collaboration with the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC) in Chicago where he was formerly a tenured faculty member.

Dr. Han is interested in the factors that affect cognition and decision making in aging. He also has special interests in leveraging novel empirical approaches to better understand these factors, and in the advocacy of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations in aging and neuroscience research. He was the recipient of the prestigious Paul B. Beeson fellowship, which is considered the premiere career development award of the National Institute on Aging (NIA). He is the primary investigator or co-investigator on multiple research grants extramurally funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private foundations. He is actively involved in the peer-review of aging and Alzheimer’s Disease research grants, and has previously served as the Chair of the NIA Clinical and Translational Research of Aging review committee (NIA-T) and the Neuroscience of Aging review committee (NIA-N). Dr. Han is a founding governance committee member of the Global Council on Brain Health, an international independent science collaborative convened by AARP that is tasked with offering the aging public the best advice about brain health. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and the American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Task Force on Neuropsychological Test Norming in Diverse Populations. Dr. Han has served as an oral examiner for the clinical neuropsychology board certification process for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), and he currently holds multiple service or mentorship roles in the International Neuropsychological Society (INS), the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN), and the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40) of the APA. His work has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Reuters, CBS, PBS, Forbes, Fox Business News, and U.S. News and World Report.

USC CTSI Profile

linkedin.com/in/dukehan/

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RESEARCH TEAM

Aaron Lim, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Aaron Lim is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab. He received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology with emphases in behavioral neuroscience and quantitative psychology from University of California Los Angeles. He completed his pre-doctoral clinical internship with a gero-neuropsychology emphasis at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital psychology internship program. Dr. Lim’s research interests include elucidating psychiatric and medical comorbidities that contribute to dementia risk, health disparities in financial decision making, and potential impacts of substance use on cognitive aging.

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Laura Fenton

Graduate Student

Laura is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology Program at USC. She received her B.A. in Psychology from UC Berkeley and spent two years working as the lab manager of a neuroscience lab studying aging and dementia, before beginning graduate school. Laura’s research interests include early detection of neurodegenerative disease through the use of neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment and the study of modifiable factors that can reduce dementia risk and promote successful aging. As part of her graduate program, Laura is also being trained in neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy and has a specific interest in working with older adult populations.

Nathan Wei

Project Assistant

Nathan is a recent graduate from USC with a B.S. in Neuroscience. His goal is to help elders live informed, guarded lives by contributing to research focused on identifying elder abuse risk factors. Along with risk factor identification, Nathan hopes to learn how neuropsychological vulnerabilities develop in elders, and how these vulnerabilities can eventually be addressed in regard to developing protective policies and lifestyle recommendations for the elderly population.

Jennifer Herrera

Project Assistant

Jennifer Herrera is a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley where she earned her B.A. in Psychology. She spent two years volunteering at a developmental lab studying cognitive development and decision-making in young children. At the Han Research Lab, Jennifer hopes to expand her knowledge on the neurological factors that influence decision-making throughout adulthood and later stages in life. She is eager to grow with the lab as she continues to pursue her passions for neuroscience and learning about the intricacies of the human brain.

Camille Erdman

Project Assistant

Camille is a recent graduate from USC where she earned her B.S. in Neuroscience. She is interested in the intersection between lifestyle and longevity and the important role that interpersonal connections play in health and well-being. As an aspiring physician, Camille’s hopes to help improve and maintain quality of life in elder populations. At the Han Research Lab, Camille is excited to gain experience in a research setting as well as learn about protecting older adults against financial vulnerability.

Riddhi Mandavia

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Riddhi is an undergraduate at USC pursuing a degree in Psychology. Through the Han Research Lab, she intends to gain research experience in a setting where she can learn about methodology and interact with a group of professionals who share a similar passion. She is looking forward to learning about neuropsychology and the impact of diseases like Alzheimer’s in the older population. She is excited to apply these skills in the future as she works towards graduate school and other career paths in Psychology.

Shaneen Upal

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Shaneen is an undergraduate at USC studying Cognitive Science and Neuroscience. She is interested in investigating decision making and the impact of neurological disorders on decision making abilities. Through her work at the Han Research Lab, she hopes to gain a better understanding of how neuropsychological vulnerabilities affect the lives of the elderly. Additionally, she aims to gain clinical research skills that will allow her to make positive changes in the lives of others as she pursues a career in the healthcare field.

John Brow

Undergraduate Research Assistant

John is an undergraduate at USC working towards a degree in Psychology. He is interested in the pragmatic ways psychology relates to various fields, including gerontological issues. Through his time with the Han Research Lab, he hopes to gain valuable research experience that he can apply to his studies, as well as a better understanding of the impacts that aging has on neurology and subsequent decision-making. With plans to study public health, he hopes to help with associated challenges in the legal field.

Paige Kim

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Paige is an undergraduate student at USC studying Health and Human Sciences. She is interested in investigating the variety of elder abuse risk factors and how they differ in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. At the Han Research Lab, she hopes to gain hands-on experience in understanding the methodology and research design behind the studies that identify risk factors. She hopes to apply this experience in the healthcare field by implementing preventive measures against elder abuse and developing treatments for its aftermath.

COLLABORATORS

Annie Nguyen, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor

UCSD Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science

Dr. Annie Nguyen is a public health scientist and an Associate Professor at the UCSD Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. Her research focuses on the determinants of resilient aging and quality of life for people aging with chronic conditions. She has specific interests in the health and aging experiences of older adults from minority and underserved backgrounds including racial and sexual minorities. She was a NIH/NIA William Butlers Scholar and was part of the first cohort of scholars in the Sustained Training for HIV and Aging Research program. She is a past-Chair of the Aging and Public Health Section of the American Public Health Association and a past-President of the American Academy of Health Behavior. Dr. Nguyen’s research has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, and she maintains an active publication record.

Gali Weissberger, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Bar Ilan University in Israel

Dr. Gali Weissberger is a Senior Lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences at Bar Ilan University in Israel. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology from the San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology in 2015. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship with a neuropsychology emphasis at the VA Boston Healthcare System's psychology internship program. She also completed a two-year research fellowship at the West Los Angeles VA Hospital and a two-year T32 fellowship funded by the National Institute on Aging under the mentorship of Dr. Duke Han. Dr. Weissberger's research interests include understanding contextual factors that impact cognitive aging, decision making, and financial exploitation of older adults utilizing neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and behavioral techniques.

Jenna Axelrod, PhD

Adult Neuropsychologist

NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL

Dr. Jenna Axelrod is an Adult Neuropsychologist at the NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and she completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship with a neuropsychology emphasis at the Long Beach VA HealthCare System’s psychology internship program. While there, she dedicated part of her time to being a member of the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Team where she developed a deep appreciation for working with elderly populations. Dr. Axelrod joined the Han Research Lab in 2019, where she researched factors that contribute to financial decision making and susceptibility to scams. Currently, she conducts comprehensive evaluations of adults presenting with a wide range of neurologic and psychiatric conditions including dementia, traumatic brain injury, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, stroke, depression, anxiety, and other condition that can impact cognitive functioning. Though her evaluations are primarily outpatient, Dr. Axelrod also serves inpatient and neurosurgical teams for assessments. Further, Dr. Axelrod participates in an active training program comprised of early career practicum students, as well as advanced technicians.