California Yoga Center Virginia

Dr. Ashford is the Director of the WRIISC at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, a Clinical Professor (affiliated) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, a Senior Research Scientist at the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center and Alzheimer's Center, and a staff psychiatrist at the VAPAHCS. Dr. Ashford is an authority on Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and experienced in the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of these and numerous other neuropsychiatric disorders. He has contributed major innovations to the fields of neuropsychological testing, brain imaging, and dementia treatment, with more than 100 scientific publications on Alzheimer's disease, MCI, genetic factors in Alzheimer's disease, and testing methodologies.

Dr. Ashford is a Scientific Board Member of the Northern California Alzheimer's Association and Chair of the Memory Screening Advisory Board for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Dr. Ashford's training includes a BA from UC-Berkeley; an MD from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; and a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA, where he set up the Alzheimer's PET Scan Study. He is a prolific scientific writer and speaker as well as a frequent presenter at international conferences.

<

• Position: Associate Director of Cognitive Neuroscience

Dr. Bayley serves as a neuroscientist at the WRIISC. He has a research background in basic neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience and his research interests focus on memory disorders. He performed graduate research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) where he studied memory disorders in patients with various forms of dementia. He completed his postdoctoral training at UCSD in the study of learning and memory in patients with brain lesions using brain imaging and neuropsychological techniques.

His current research interests include the identification of objective measures of traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder using both brain imaging and cognitive testing. He also has an interest in early detection of dementia and is a member of the Memory Screening Advisory Board for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

• Position: Deputy Director of Clinical Care

Sandra Bell is Clinical Coordinator of the California War Related Illness and Injury Study Center at the VA Palo Alto. She received her Master's Degree in Nursing from the University of San Francisco in 2011. Additionally, Ms. Bell is a certified Clinical Nurse Leader and a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Ms. Bell is honored to have the opportunity to serve America's Veterans.

Dr. Cheng is a staff neurologist at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System and is the primary neurology consultant for the CA WRIISC. Dr. Cheng received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, completed his internship in internal medicine and residency in neurology at the Mayo Graduate Clinic in Minnesota, and a fellowship in neurology at the University of California, Davis.

Valerie Darcy is an Registered Nurse and licensed Public Health Nurse. She holds a BS in Nursing from San Francisco State University and a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley. Ms. Darcy is also a certified Rehabilitation Nurse and member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Ms. Darcy manages referrals and general inquiries to the CA WRIISC, is involved with the coordination of clinical evaluations, and supports clinical trials evaluating the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of conditions including pain, depression and cognitive impairment. She has worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2008, including three years on the inpatient Polytrauma ward in Palo Alto where she took care of service members and Veterans with combat-related and other traumatic injuries.

• Position: Neuropsychology

Dr. Timothy Durazzo provides his expertise in neuropsychology and brain imaging research to the CA WRIISC team. He oversees neuropsychological screening and evaluation for CA WRIISC patients as needed.

• Position:...