Training the next generation of health professionals is a fundamental aspect of the Penn Memory Center’s mission. PMC trainees receive the highest level of experience and support. Launch your career at PMC.
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology interns are trained to administer and interpret cognitive testing for PMC’s clinical and research studies. Interns may have the opportunity to collect data for their own dissertation or thesis studies at PMC. Many trainees go on to complete four-year programs in clinical psychology.
Keisha April, JD, PhD, is an assistant professor at New York University.
Dahlia Kamel, MS, is a clinical trials coordinator at the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center.
Hyun Kim, MS, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in psychiatry at Columbia University.
Rachel Mis is completing a PhD in clinical psychology at Temple University.
Emma Rhodes, MA, PhD, completed both a clinical rotation and her dissertation data collection at PMC. Dr. Rhodes is a clinical neuropsychologist at Penn and is an instructor at the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center.
Jillian Tessier is a postdoctoral fellow in clinical neuropsychology at San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Katherine Hackett is a doctoral student in clinical psychology with a focus in neuropsychology at Temple University.
Blair Scribner-Weiss is a neuropsychology fellow at Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center.
Nicole Gulkis is a a postdoc at the Philadelphia VAMC.
Kassondra Bertulis is a postdoc at the Bedford VAMC in Massachusetts.
Social Work
The social work internship program at the Penn Memory Center is led by Felicia Greenfield, MSW, LCSW, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Policy and Practice and the executive director of PMC. This program prepares social service students for careers in geriatric social work. Interns play an integral role in the operations of social work at PMC and carry out jobs such as creating and leading support groups, programs, and research projects as well as providing clinical services to patients.
Kate Lietz, MSW ’22 is an outpatient social worker for Penn Medicine’s FTD Center and department of general cognitive neurology.
Stephanie Vogelman, MSW ’21 is a social worker in the department of general medicine at Penn Medicine.
Kelli Sloan, MSW ’21 is a psychotherapist specializing in grief and loss at DLA Psychology Center in Chicago, IL.
Anna Kozlowska, MSW ’21 is a psychotherapist at Belmont Behavioral Health in Philadelphia, PA.
McEllen Lawrence, MSW ’20 is pursing a PhD in clinical psychology with a focus in geropsychology at William James University.
Clarise Ballesteros, MSW ’20 is a therapist in residence at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA.
Alexandra Acaba, MSW ’20 is the Director of Operations at Drs. Berrocal & Associates in San Juan, PR.
Katherine Maddente, MSW ’20 is a care manager at Empathy, an app that helps people navigate emotional and logistical challenges after the death of a loved one.
Nora Garland, MSW ’19 is an outpatient social worker at the MS Clinic in Penn’s Department of Neurology.
Laura Vargas, MSW ’19 is the Bereavement Care Program Manager in the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
Matt Volpe, MSW ’19 is an EAP counselor in Raleigh, NC.
Sarah Bujno, MSW ’19 is the Director of Research Strategies at her anti-racist consulting start-up, Creating Action Intiative.
Catherine Wilsnack, MSW ’19 is a predoctoral fellow in the Clinical Genetics Branch at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD.
Cynthia Clyburn, MSW ’18, was hired by the Penn Department of Neurology as an outpatient social worker upon graduating from Penn. Cynthia currently owns and operates a private therapy practice for dementia caregivers in Charleston, SC.
Arielle Schreier, MSW ’18 is a social worker in North Palm Beach, FL.
Lauren Zelouf, MSW ’18 is an outpatient social worker in the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders clinic at Penn Medicine.
Kelsey Fleming, MSW ’17 spent three years as an outpatient social worker at Penn Medicine before moving to a social work role at Mount Nittany Health in State College, PA.
Lauren Tempesta, MSW ’17 is a social worker in Heart Transplant at Penn Medicine.
Megan Fucci, MSW ’17 is a clinical care coordinator at Patient Sortal.
Alison Lynn, MSW ’16 is Director of Social Work at the Penn Memory Center
Anna VanDien ’16 is a bereavement care coordinator at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo in Buffalo, NY.
Genevieve Gellert, MSW ’16 owns and operates a private psychotherapy practice specializing in sex therapy.
Sarah Bujno and Matthew Volpe assist in leading the PMC program Creative Expression Through Music.
Communications
The Penn Memory Center Health and Science Communications Internship program provides interns with first-hand health and science communications experience that includes but is not limited to social media content creation and management, web design and management, news writing, creative long-form content production, graphic design, and community outreach.
Sharnita Midgett, MPH, completed the Health and Science Communications Internship in 2018 while attending La Salle University’s master’s of public health program. Sharnita is now pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
Leah Fein participated in the Health and Science Communications Internship in 2018. Fein is now a social worker at the Penn Memory Center.
Cait Kearney is a communications specialist at PMC.
Linnea Langkammer is an Alzheimer’s and caregiving documentarian at the University of Edinburgh.
Janissa Delzo is a writer and editor at Partners In Health.
Joyce Lee is a student at Boston University Medical School and is expected to graduate in 2023.
David Ney is a resident at Jefferson Medicine.
Matthew Smith is a programs assistant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Clinical Fellows
PMC fellows engage in mentored clinical evaluations, as well as clinical trials and other patient-oriented research. They also have protected time for scholarly work with the expectation that grant support will be pursued by the end of their training.
Kyra O’Brien, MD, is an instructor of neurology at Penn Medicine.
Sara Manning, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at Penn Medicine.
Lauren McCollum, MD, was a clinical fellow from 2018 to 2020. Dr. McCollum is now a neurologist at the Pat Summit Clinic at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Riddhi Patira, MD
Riddhi Patira, MD, was a clinical fellow from 2017 to 2018. Dr. Patira is an assistant professor of neurology at the school of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
Research Interns
Research interns typically work on one or more projects related to the work of The Penn Program on Precision Medicine for the Brain – Penn Memory Center. Intern experience varies by the goals of the intern and the needs of the principle investigator. The experience includes, but is not limited to, collecting and analyzing data, composing literature reviews, and participating in presentations.
Audrey Krall, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner at Spring Fertility.
Olivia Bernal, MD, MPH, graduated from the Perelman School of Medicine and is now a resident of internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
Rani Plotkin is the manager of analytics integration at ChenMed, which brings value-based primary care providers to low-income geriatric populations.