Three things drive Dom Wall’s work at Neuroscape: the desire to learn, the desire to have a tangible impact on people’s lives, and the community at Neuroscape. “I consider myself a lifelong learner, so I get excited when most people in the room are smarter than me because it provides me opportunities to grow,” he says. 

Wall’s journey to becoming a clinical research coordinator at Neuroscape has been all about growth. He first became interested in neuroscience when he was an undergraduate student at the University of San Francisco. He now works on the MediTrain team coordinating the study participants. 

In addition to his work on MediTrain, Wall has worked on the Music and Meditation study, the MEC study (MediTrain, Engage, Coherence), the Engage PCS (pediatric cancer survivor) study, and the Nexus platform development. He is most excited to be launching the MediTrain Older Adult study. “We’ve been in the planning stages, and now we’re eyeing a launch date in the next few months,” he says. The goal of the study is to better understand the effects of MediTrain on attention and cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Growing up, Monique de Villa witnessed the struggles her Filipino-immigrant parents had navigating the healthcare system here and how that manifested into their future mental, physical, and emotional health. Living in Merced, CA, now, de Villa continues to see the “glaring need for high-quality, culturally-informed resources that help people manage their health and enhance their well-being,” she says. 

Those experiences are now shaping her work to earn a master’s of public health (MPH) at the University of San Francisco, as well as her work as a volunteer at Neuroscape. Working with David Ziegler on the MediTrain studies (see “Staff Spotlight” above as well), de Villa is helping to increase the diversity of study participants by creating community-based partnerships with local ambassadors. 

“Community advocates and leaders have valuable insight into the neighborhoods that they live in and will help us better understand their community’s needs, priorities, and desires when it comes to their health and well-being,” de Villa says. “I’m able to use many of the theories and concepts we talk about in my public health classes and apply them in my role.”