Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at University of California, San Francisco for 2026
The University of California, San Francisco continues to show broad activity across neuroscience, with recent work spanning brain health, cognitive function, movement disorders, and the biology of mental illness. The papers sampled here reflect a research community that moves comfortably between clinical questions and mechanistic studies.
Below, you’ll find a snapshot of researchers whose recent publications point to active work on memory and aging, neuromodulation, sleep, psychosis, and brain–behavior relationships. Together, these projects offer a view of how neuroscience at UCSF is connecting laboratory findings with patient-centered questions.
Featured Researchers
Edward F. Chang
Edward F. Chang’s recent work at the University of California, San Francisco spans cognitive neuroscience, genetics, and psychiatry and mental health, including studies on imagined movement control, interneuron targeting, and motion correction for recordings.
Activity over the last year: 33 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Sampling representational plasticity of simple imagined movements across days enables long-term neuroprosthetic control (Mar 2025)
- An enhancer-AAV toolbox to target and manipulate distinct interneuron subtypes (May 2025)
- DREDge: robust motion correction for high-density extracellular recordings across species (Mar 2025)
Lea T. Grinberg
Lea T. Grinberg’s recent publications at the University of California, San Francisco focus on physiology, psychiatry and mental health, and neurology, with attention to precision brain health and selective vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease.
Activity over the last year: 29 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Computational whole-body-exposome models for global precision brain health (Dec 2025)
- Pathways underlying selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer's disease: Contrasting the vulnerable locus coeruleus to the resilient substantia nigra (Mar 2025)
- Connectivity as a universal predictor of tau progression in atypical Alzheimer’s disease (Aug 2025)
Philip A. Starr
Philip A. Starr’s work at the University of California, San Francisco centers on neurology and cognitive neuroscience, especially personalized adaptive deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease and dystonia.
Activity over the last year: 24 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Kristine Yaffe
Kristine Yaffe’s recent output at the University of California, San Francisco links psychiatry and mental health with physiology and experimental psychology, focusing on sleep patterns, biomarkers, and dementia risk.
Activity over the last year: 21 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Association of rapid eye movement sleep latency with multimodal biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (Jan 2025)
- Five-Year Changes in 24-Hour Sleep-Wake Activity and Dementia Risk in Oldest Old Women (Mar 2025)
- Sleep architecture and dementia risk in adults: an analysis of 5 cohorts from the Sleep and Dementia Consortium (May 2025)
Robin Carhart‐Harris
Robin Carhart-Harris’s recent studies at the University of California, San Francisco combine clinical psychology and cellular and molecular neuroscience to examine psychedelics, neuroplasticity, and antidepressant responses.
Activity over the last year: 24 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Neuroplasticity and psychedelics: A comprehensive examination of classic and non-classic compounds in pre and clinical models (Apr 2025)
- Exploring 5-MeO-DMT as a pharmacological model for deconstructed consciousness (Jan 2025)
- Reduced Brain Responsiveness to Emotional Stimuli With Escitalopram But Not Psilocybin Therapy for Depression (May 2025)
Gil D. Rabinovici
Gil D. Rabinovici’s recent work at the University of California, San Francisco spans psychiatry and mental health, physiology, and cognitive neuroscience, with publications on amyloid biomarkers and Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Activity over the last year: 24 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Considerations in the clinical use of amyloid PET and CSF biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (Mar 2025)
- Dissociable spatial topography of cortical atrophy in early‐onset and late‐onset Alzheimer's disease: A head‐to‐head comparison of the LEADS and ADNI cohorts (Feb 2025)
- Distinct manifestations of excitatory-inhibitory imbalance associated with amyloid-β and tau in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Aug 2025)
Bruce L. Miller
Bruce L. Miller’s recent publications at the University of California, San Francisco connect psychiatry and mental health with physiology and neurology, including studies of aging, dementia, and excitatory-inhibitory imbalance.
Activity over the last year: 25 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Qualitative and quantitative educational disparities and brain signatures in healthy aging and dementia across global settings (Apr 2025)
- Distinct manifestations of excitatory-inhibitory imbalance associated with amyloid-β and tau in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Aug 2025)
- Neurophysiological signatures of ageing: compensatory and compromised neural mechanisms (Jan 2025)
Daniel H. Mathalon
Daniel H. Mathalon’s recent research at the University of California, San Francisco emphasizes psychiatry and mental health, cognitive neuroscience, and imaging, with work on psychosis risk, harmonized cognitive assessment, and gamma oscillations.
Activity over the last year: 23 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Relations of temporoparietal connectivity with neighborhood social fragmentation in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis (Mar 2025)
- Cognitive assessment in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia Program: harmonization priorities and strategies in a diverse international sample (Mar 2025)
- Gamma Oscillations and Excitation/Inhibition Imbalance: Parallel Effects of NMDA Receptor Antagonism and Psychosis (Jan 2025)
What University of California, San Francisco's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
Across the featured researchers, psychiatry and mental health appears most often, followed by cognitive neuroscience and physiology, suggesting a community focused on the links between brain function, behavior, and clinical outcome. Neurology also features prominently, alongside cellular and molecular neuroscience, indicating that UCSF neuroscience is actively balancing patient-oriented research with mechanistic investigation. The recent publications point to a shared interest in Alzheimer’s disease, psychosis, sleep, neuromodulation, and other questions where biological insight can inform diagnosis and treatment.- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 6 of the featured researchers
- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 4 of the featured researchers
- Physiology - seen across 4 of the featured researchers
- Neurology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
These recent contributions suggest a neuroscience community that is deeply engaged with both discovery and care, from biomarkers and brain imaging to adaptive stimulation and sleep research. Explore the profiles below to see how each researcher is shaping this work, and consider using Resub to support your own citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and submission workflow.
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