Lea Tenenholz Grinberg, MD, PhD

Lea is a neuropathologist and neuroscientist dedicated to understanding brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on disease heterogeneity and its manifestations across diverse populations. Her research integrates high-resolution neuropathology, biomarker development, and translational neuroscience, with key contributions in understanding selective neuronal vulnerability, tauopathies, and the role of neuromodulatory subcortical systems in dementia. She is also recognized for advancing personalized approaches to sleep dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases and validating multimodal neuroimaging through histopathology.

In May 2025, Lea and her lab relocated to the Mayo Clinic in Florida, where she was appointed Director of the modernization of the Brain Bank in the Department of Neuroscience and serves as a Senior Associate Consultant in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. She continues her faculty appointment (WOS) at the University of São Paulo and remains affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as a researcher (WOS), where she previously held the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Endowed Professorship and served as Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology.

She has authored over 370 peer-reviewed publications and holds an H-index of 97. Lea was awarded the UNESCO-L’Oréal “For Women in Science” Award in 2009 and was named one of the world’s most highly cited researchers by Clarivate in 2024.

A passionate educator and mentor, she is committed to training the next generation of patient-oriented researchers across disciplines and geographies. She co-founded the Brazilian Biobank for Aging Studies and previously co-directed the UCSF Neurodegenerative Disease Brain Bank. She is Principal Investigator on several research grants and continues to serve on the Governing Board of the Brazilian Biobank for Aging Studies.

At the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Lea chairs GBHI’s Selection Committee and remains active in the selection and mentorship of new Atlantic Fellows. She also chairs the UCSF Academic Senate Committee on Research and Neuromodulatory Subcortical Systems and leads the ISTAART PIA focused on this domain. She serves on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Group of the Alzheimer’s Association.