The ADAPT Lab team.

ADAPT Lab

Our Team

Current Members

  • Diana S. Guzmán

    • Lab Manager

    Diana Guzmán is the Lab Manager for the ADAPT Imaging Lab. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nutrition at Columbia University and holds a bachelor’s degree in health science from Gettysburg College. In her role, Diana oversees study operations and regulatory compliance across all lab research. She manages research participant visits in both English and Spanish, including neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging visits, and trains research staff to support data collection and protocol adherence. She plans to pursue medical training and is currently applying to medical school.

    Diana has two projects within the lab. The first, Differential Association of Moderate Alcohol Use with Neurodegeneration, Cerebrovascular Disease, and Cognition by Racial, Ethnic, and Sex/Gender Groups in Middle Age, was presented at the 2023 and 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC). The second, Regional Amyloid and Tau: Exploring Regional Sex-Based Differences in a Middle-Aged Community-Based Cohort, was presented at the Human Amyloid Imaging (HAI) Conference in 2025 and 2026 and is currently being developed into a manuscript for publication. Her first-authored paper with Anna Smith, Inflammatory Alterations and Multi-Domain Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, was published in Alzheimer’s Disease & Associated Disorders. She has also coauthored six additional papers and 29 abstracts, posters, and presentations.

  • Hannah Houlihan

    • Research Coordinator

    Hannah Houlihan (she/her) is a research coordinator for the ADAPT imaging lab. She graduated from the University of Delaware with a major in neuroscience and a minor in cognitive science. She focuses on running participant visits as well as image data analysis.

    Hannah is working on her own project titled "Microglia density measured by TSPO PET across amyloid positivity and clinical variants," which was presented at AAIC 2024. She has also presented "Annual percent change of microglia density in relation to tau accumulation in older adults" at the Human Amyloid Imaging (HAI) Conference in 2025.

    Hannah hopes to continue onto a neuroscience PhD program in the future. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, going to the beach, and going hiking. 

  • Thairi C. Sanchez

    • Research Assistant

    Thairi Sanchez (she/her) is a Research Assistant for the ADAPT Imaging Lab. Born and raised in New York City and shaped by her Dominican roots, she is deeply passionate about working within and giving back to the community she calls home.  She graduated from Gettysburg College in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in biology.  In her role, Thairi coordinates participant visits in both English and Spanish and supports regulatory submissions for ongoing studies. She is currently leading her first independent project exploring the effects of loneliness on cognitive impairment. Thairi has also presented her work at her first imaging conference, where she explored loneliness across multiple neuroimaging tracers. 

    Looking ahead, she plans to pursue a master's in nursing, with a continued interest in bridging research and patient-centered care. Outside of work, she loves staying active through fitness, traveling, trying new foods, and exploring NYC and its surrounding areas. 

    Thairi Sanchez

  • Aubrey S. Johnson

    • Lab Consultant

    Aubrey Johnson is currently a consultant for the Alzheimer's Disease and PET (ADAPT) imaging lab. She was formerly the Clinical Research Program Manager, but is now pursing her M.D. at New York Medical College. She graduated from Smith College in 2018 with a double major in neuroscience and dance. Currently Aubrey has two projects within the ADAPT lab: “Differential acquisition of 18F-Florbetaben imaging” and “Racial differences in MK6240 off target binding.” She has also coauthored 14 other papers and presentations during her six years with the ADAPT (formerly Kreisl) Lab. Her first authored paper ,"Psychotic symptoms are associated with elevated tau PET signal in the amygdala independent of Alzheimer's disease clinical severity and amyloid burden" is currently under review for publication. 

    Aubrey S. Johnson

  • William C. Kreisl, MD

    • Founder and Consultant

    Dr. William Kreisl founded the precursor to the ADAPT lab in 2016 when he submitted his junior researcher grant to begin studying PET within Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias at Columbia. He then applied for further funding to start the two major studies currently enrolling. Dr. Kreisl has since moved on from academia but remains involved in the ADAPT lab as a consultant.

    William C. Kreisl, MD

  • James M. Noble, MD, MS

    • Study Physician

    Dr. James Noble is a Professor of Neurology in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His clinical, research, outreach, advocacy, and education efforts are focused on modifiable risk factors of cognitive aging and improving awareness of neurological disorders. At Columbia co-directs their CMS GUIDE program and is the clinical core leader of the Columbia Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which supports and connects with many of the brain imaging studies at Columbia. Aside from directing several research projects focused on cognitive aging, all supported by the NIH, he is co-editor of the standard textbook Merritt’s Neurology and author of the caregiver handbook Navigating Life with Dementia (Oxford University Press/American Academy of Neurology, 2022). In 2010, he co-founded Arts & Minds, a non-profit organization which has provided thousands of art-centered, museum-based programs to persons with dementia and their care partners, and serves as a volunteer as the organization’s president. 

    Profile Headshot

  • Patrick J. Lao, PhD

    • Principal Investigator

    Patrick Lao is an assistant professor in the neurology department at Columbia University. He obtained his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where his thesis work focused on PET imaging, including performing radiochemistry for studies of Alzheimer’s disease. He completed his postdoctoral training at Columbia University, incorporating vascular MRI into studies of Alzheimer’s disease. His current research focuses on inflammatory and vascular pathways to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis and progression.

    Profile Headshot

Former Lab Members

  • Anna Smith

    • Lab Manager

    Anna has since gone on to pursue a master’s degree in Pathologists’ Assistant Studies at Rosalind Franklin University.

  • Andrea Maldonado

    • Research Assistant
    Andrea Maldonado

  • Catherine Palacios

    • Research Assistant
    Catherine Palacios

  • Lauren Heuer

    • Research Assistant

  • Amara Okafor

    • Research Assistant

    Currently pursuing an MD.

  • Samantha M. Rossano, PhD

    • Post-Doctoral Fellow

  • Galen Ziaggi

    • Research Coordinator

    Currently pursuing a Masters. 

  • Andrew E. Roetman

    • Research Assistant

    Currently pursuing a PhD.

  • Zeljko Tomljanovic

    • Research Coordinator

  • Julia Klein

    • Research Assistant

  • Elena Golub

    • Research Assistant
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