Interests
Joel Kramer, PsyD
Professor of Neuropsychology
We need a lifespan approach which promotes health equity and brain-healthy behaviors and reduces early risk exposures.
Current Work
Neuropsychologist
Personal Hero
Dr. Art Ablin
Words of Strength
Supporting the next generation of leaders
Vision
We need a lifespan approach that includes reducing early risk exposures (e.g. education, pollution, head injury), massive public education around brain health and policy leaders that can promote health equity and brain-healthy behaviors.
Strategy
Joel leads several projects at UCSF focused on identifying biological and lifestyle factors associated with better brain-aging trajectories. Learning more about these factors (e.g. physical activity) will guide decisions about primary-prevention strategies.
Motivation
Joel's research is singularly focused on protecting brain health in aging populations and our increasing emphasis on health-care disparities further strengthens our alignment with GBHI.
Education & Experience
Joel is a Professor of Neuropsychology in Neurology and the Director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC) Neuropsychology program. He earned his Doctorate in Psychology at Baylor University and completed Postdoctoral Training in Neuropsychology at the Martinez VA hospital. Joel actively sees patients in the MAC Clinic and is Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology. He has been extensively involved in studying the cognitive and behavioral changes associated with aging-related brain disorders for the past three decades. He has co-authored widely used neuropsychological measures of memory and executive functioning. Presently, Joel's active areas of research use neuroimaging, neuropsychology, neuroimmunology and genetics, to study the underlying biological mechanisms of typical and pathological brain aging, including cerebrovascular disease, inflammation and neurodegenerative disease.
