Dr. Kristine Yaffe and the Center for Population Brain Health are recruiting for a two-year postdoctoral advanced fellowship program in mental health research and treatment with a focus on dementia, cognitive health, and geriatric neuropsychiatry. This fellowship is associated with the Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (MIRECC; VISN 21) and affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
The primary goal of the fellowship is to train MDs in psychiatry, neurology, geriatrics, or related fields; psychologists/neuropsychologists; or other allied health professionals to become leading clinical researchers in the areas of Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD), cognitive aging, brain health, and geriatric neuropsychiatry. Over the course of the two-year program, fellows are trained in clinical research and clinical care service delivery devoting 75% time to research and educational activities including didactics and career development seminars and 25% to clinical training. Fellows will be responsible for driving innovative research projects while also gaining clinical and translational research experience/skills and training to become an independent investigator.
The candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with SFVAHCS/UCSF investigators and participate in didactic sessions. Under the mentorship of Dr. Yaffe, the scholar will design and execute dementia and cognitive aging research studies, write manuscripts for peer reviewed publications, develop presentations for conferences and meetings, and contribute to grant development. Potential projects may be focused on social determinants of brain health as well as modifiable risk factors of cognitive aging and AD/ADRD including traumatic brain injury, PTSD, depression, cardiovascular risk factors, and sleep. Ideal applicants would have particular interest in expanding expertise in population-based health.
Faculty mentors are affiliated with the SFVAHCS Research and Mental Health services, the UCSF Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurology, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the SFVAHCS/UCSF Center for Population Brain Health (CPBH), and the Global Brain Health Institute. We are a multidisciplinary group of clinical researchers, dedicated to the advancement of brain heath across the lifespan. The fellowship is funded by the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
We are also seeking applicants for the VA MIRECC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Data Science Applications to Cognitive Aging and Brain Health.
Application information
To apply, please email the following to research manager Tina Hoang ([email protected]):
- Letter of interest detailing your research experience, interests, career goals, and proposed faculty mentor(s) from list above
- CV
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
The application deadline is November 30, 2025.
