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, and a tenured Professor of Psychology, Family Medicine, Neurology, and Gerontology at 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 in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He received training in clinical neuropsychology and experimental neuroimaging 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 factors that impact 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 for underserved and underrepresented people groups in aging and neuroscience research. In addition to directing his own extramurally-funded research lab, he serves as the Co-Leader of the Research and Education Core for the USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), and the Editor-In-Chief of The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences. 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), and has been actively involved in the peer-review of aging and Alzheimer’s Disease research grants, including serving 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 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 was a member of 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 board certification process for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), was a former Co-Chair of the Dementia Special Interest Group (SIG) of the International Neuropsychological Society (INS). 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), the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40) of the APA, and the Asian Neuropsychological Association (ANA). His work has been featured in multiple media outlets, including Reuters, CBS, PBS, Forbes, Fox Business News, and U.S. News and World Report.

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RESEARCH TEAM

Jenna Axelrod, PhD, ABPP

Staff Scientist

Dr. Jenna Axelrod is an Adult Neuropsychologist and staff scientist in the lab. 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. She also previously worked at the NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL where she conducted 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. Dr. Axelrod joined the Han Research Lab to help research factors that contribute to financial decision-making and susceptibility to scams.

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.

Daisy Noriega-Makarskyy

Graduate Student

Daisy is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology Program at USC. In 2019, she received her B.A. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Before beginning graduate school, she spent two years at Massachusetts General Hospital working as a bilingual Clinical Research Coordinator for the Boston Latino Aging Study. Her research interests include understanding the biopsychosocial risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, particularly in diverse groups through the use of biomarkers and culturally appropriate neuropsychological measurements.

Cassidy Molinare

Graduate Student

Cassidy is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology Program at USC. She graduated from Providence College in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish. Before beginning graduate school, she spent two years working as a Research Assistant for the Boston Remote Assessment for NeuroCognitive Health (BRANCH) Study at Mass General Brigham. Her research interests include improving early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease using digital assessments and understanding risk factors that contribute to cognitive impairment in older adults.

Camille Erdman

Operations Manager

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 the quality of life in older adult 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.

Jordan Williams

Project Assistant

Jordan T. Williams is a recent graduate of Columbia University, where she earned her MPH in Population and Family Health, following a B.A. in Health and Human Sciences from the University of Southern California. With aspirations to pursue an MD/PhD, she aims to bridge the gap between public health and medicine through addressing systemic barriers to well-being among institutionally oppressed groups. At the lab, Jordan is enthusiastic about contributing to a study tackling the public health challenges surrounding financial exploitation of aging adults, and the potential to inspire strategies to protect this vulnerable demographic from abuse and premature mortality.

Emma Oyen

Project Assistant

Emma Oyen is a recent graduate from Arizona State University where she earned her B.S. in Psychology and worked as a research assistant in a Behavioral Neuroscience lab. During her undergraduate education, she interned at Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix where she became passionate about working with older adults and understanding factors impacting cognition and brain health with aging. With aspirations to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology, she is interested in gaining hands on experience through the use of neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment. At the Han Research lab at USC, Emma's research interests include studying factors that impact financial decision-making and the intersections of genetic and lifestyle factors impacting dementia risk.

Paige Kim

Project Assistant

Paige is a recent graduate of USC where she earned her B.A. in 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. As she continues her time at the Han Research Lab, she is interested in further gaining 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.