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Our clinical faculty members are board-certified neuropathologists who have substantial experience with brain tumors and epilepsy, as well as infectious, inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorders. 

Our faculty specialty areas include:

  • Neoplasms including gliomas, meningiomas and pituitary tumors
  • Vascular malformations of the nervous system
  • Skull base disorders
  • Spinal cord disorders
  • Peripheral nerve and muscle disorders
  • Dementia and neurodegenerative disorders
  • Stroke and cerebrovascular disease
  • Epilepsy and developmental disorders of the nervous system
  • Consultations on problematic and unusual cases

There are weekly neuropathology CQE (consensus, quality, education), general brain autopsy, neuromuscular pathology, neurodegenerative brain autopsy and brain tumor board conferences at Douglas Hospital and periodic brain autopsy examinations at the Tibor Rubin Veterans Administration Medical Center and Orange County Sheriff’s Department-Coroners Office.

Neuropathology research strengths are broad, including brain development, neurodegeneration and computational neuropathology. Major funded programs include: 

  • UCI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) supporting studies of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
  • Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium – Down syndrome (ABC-DS), researching Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis in Down syndrome 
  • NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network mapping and molecularly characterizing brain cells across the human brain

The Neuropathology subspecialty offers the following educational opportunities: medical student rotations and brain autopsy conferences, research training (graduate and postdoctoral), residency training and a neuropathology fellowship.

Pathology Residency Program

Our fully-accredited Pathology Residency program provides comprehensive training in anatomic and clinical pathology.

Neuropathology Fellowship Program

The Neuropathology Fellowship provides training in surgical and autopsy neuropathology, including pediatric neuropathology, forensic neuropathology and ophthalmic pathology.

Elizabeth Head, PhD

Research interests: Down syndrome, Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network

HEAD LAB

Albert La Spada, MD, PhD

Research interests: Neurodegeneration, molecular neurotherapeutics (Huntington’s disease, ALS, SCA7, Parkinson’s disease), UCI Center for Neurotherapeutics

LA SPADA LAB

Jana Lipkova, PhD

Research interests: Healthcare artificial intelligence, including in neuro-oncology, neuropathology and immunology

Jana's lab - AI for Pathology

Edwin S. Monuki, MD, PhD

Research interests: Choroid plexus development and regenerative medicine, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network

MONUKI LAB

Matthew Rose, MD, PhD

Research interests: Gene networks in brainstem development

Mari Perez-Rosendahl, MD

Research interests: General neuropathology and neuromuscular pathology, clinicopathologic studies, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

William Yong, MD

Research interests: Down syndrome, NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, brain tumors, biobanking, informatics/digital pathology

TRansparent one pixel image
TRansparent one pixel image

Maria Del Valle Estopinal, MD

Research interests: Ophthalmic pathology, benign and malignant ophthalmic neoplasms

Tahseen Mozaffar, MD

Research interests: Neuromuscular pathology, immune myopathies including inclusion body myositis

Contact Us

Please visit the Pathology & Laboratory Science Department Contact Us page to get in touch with us.

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