Our Team

Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program

Dr. Giza graduated from Dartmouth College, received his M.D. from West Virginia University and completed Adult and Pediatric Neurology training at UCLA. He worked on the Yosemite Search and Rescue team before joining the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center in 1998.  He served as Vice-Chief of the California State Athletic Commission (2005-2015), as an advisor for the U.S. Department of Defense, traveling to Afghanistan (2011) and on the Board of Directors of the Concussion In Sport Group (CISG 2023-2024). He founded and directs the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT & Operation Mend BRAIN TBI programs. He co-authored concussion/mild TBI guidelines for AAN (2013), CDC (2018) and the CISG (2017, 2023). He serves on concussion advisory committees for MLS, NBA and US Soccer and is a clinical consultant for MLS/USSF, NHL/NHLPA, NBA, NFL, the LA Lakers and the LA Chargers. Dr. Giza co-leads the CARE4Kids Concussion Consortium, working to identify objective biomarkers of Persisting Post-Concussion Symptoms in adolescents.  He is the Rubin Brown Professor and Chief of Pediatric Neurology at UCLA Children’s Hospital.  Chris enjoys hiking & climbing, road cycling and off-the-beaten path travel.

Associate Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program | Neurologist, Specialized in Sports Concussion and TBI 

Meeryo Choe, MD, FAAN grew up in the Los Angeles area, traveled east to attend Amherst College, where she majored in Fine Arts completing a senior thesis in Printmaking. She is currently an Associate Professor in Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the Program Director for the Child Neurology Residency Program. She is also the Associate Director of the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, and helps oversee its mission, providing clinical care for injured student athletes, performing clinical research in pediatric traumatic brain injury TBI, and educating the community about sports-related concussion. Her research focuses on clinical outcome after pediatric TBI, with interests in post-concussive autonomic dysfunction and gender disparities in concussion incidence and recovery. She was a co-author on the CDC’s pediatric mTBI review and guidelines published in JAMA Pediatrics, and is a site-PI for the CARE4Kids U54, a multi-institutional longitudinal pediatric concussion study.

UCLA Neurology Faculty | UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘17

Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor UCLA Neurology | UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘18

Dr. Joshua Kamins  is an Associate Professor of Neurology at UCLA and an Associate Director of the Steve Tisch BrainSPORT program. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.D. from UC San Diego. He then returned to Southern California to train in Neurology at UCLA. At UCLA, Dr. Kamins found a way to unite his interests in sports medicine and neurology by becoming the first neurologist to complete fellowships in both Headache Medicine and Sports Neurology. His current research interests include investigating treatments for post-traumatic headaches and improving the diagnosis of concussion, while his clinical interests consist of primary headache and facial pain disorders, post-traumatic headaches, and persisting post-concussion symptoms. He sees both pediatric and adult patients in the Steve Tisch BrainSPORT clinic as well as the Goldberg Migraine program. He also serves on the mild TBI task force for the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Post-Traumatic Headache interest group for the American Headache Society.

Assistant Professor in Neurology | UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow

Kevin Bickart is an Assistant Professor in Neurology specializing in sports and behavioral neurology as part of UCLA’s BrainSPORT, Easton, Neurobehavior, and Operation Mend programs. He completed his MD/PhD in anatomy and neurobiology from Boston University School of Medicine, post-doc at Northeastern and Harvard Universities, residency in neurology at Stanford, and dual fellowship in behavioral and sports neurology at UCLA. He is double board certified in Brain Injury Medicine and Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry. Kevin was the first to identify neuroimaging correlates of social network size in humans, among his other findings published in high impact journals, such as Nature Neuroscience and The Journal of Neuroscience. He comes from a lineage of well-known and inspiring mentors, including Lisa Feldman Barrett at Northeastern, Brad Dickerson at Harvard, Mike Greicius at Stanford, and more recently Mario Mendez and Chris Giza at UCLA. Kevin’s current research focuses on mapping and modulating brain circuits to promote overall brain health and personalized recovery from chronic neurological symptoms. He runs the Bickart Lab, co-hosts The Better Brain Podcast, and directs the the student-led Brain Health Project all dedicated to educating bright minds and maintaining a commitment to the community. 

Professor, Clinical Psychology

Dr. Asarnow’s research focuses on the neurobehavioral sequelae of traumatic brain injuries in children and adults. These are prospective, epidemiological studies that assess language, cognition and school and adaptive functioning in children and adults who have suffered significant traumatic brain injuries.

Associate Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program

Dr. Talin Babikian is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and Associate Clinical Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  She is the Associate Director of the UCLA BrainSPORT Program, an inter-departmental and multi-disciplinary program for identifying and treating brain injuries — including concussions — in youth and professional athletes, where she oversees the Sports Neuropsychology Fellowship training program.  She also serves as Training Director for the UCLA Semel Institute Neuropsychology Fellowship program.  Dr. Babikian is actively involved in clinical research identifying biopsychosocial markers of repair, recovery, and outcomes following a brain injury in childhood. She has authored and presented several works on this topic in academic journals and at professional seminars nationally and internationally.

Clinical Psychologist 

Dr. Tanner is a licensed clinical psychologist within the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She received her B.A. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Dartmouth College and earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with a minor in Quantitative Psychology, from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Tanner specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for emotional disorders and persistent post-concussion symptoms.

Associate Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program

Dr. Goldman is a Health Science Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery. At UCLA, Dr. Goldman cares for both Family Medicine and Sports Medicine patients of all ages, while supervising medical students, residents, and Sports Medicine fellows. He is the team physician for the UCLA football, men's soccer, and women's water polo teams.

Occupational Therapist

Dr. Madison Harris is a licensed occupational therapist and head of the Occupational Therapy Program at the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, where she provides clinical care for individuals across the lifespan with concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI), conducts research on post-concussive autonomic dysfunction and gender disparities in recovery, and leads community education efforts. She is also part of the interdisciplinary care team at UCLA Operation Mend, supporting post-9/11 combat veterans with TBI. Dr. Harris created BrainSPORT and Operation Mend’s occupational therapy teaching program, serving as a preceptor for doctoral students. Her work is grounded in a commitment to helping athletes and veterans navigate complex recovery and transition periods, particularly during retirement and reintegration.

Occupational Therapist

Dr. Borras is a board certified occupational therapist at the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program. Originally from Northern California, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Sonoma State University in 2020, followed by a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2022 and a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy in 2024, both from the University of Southern California (USC). In addition to working with rehabilitating athletes, Dr. Borras shows interest in working with individuals diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

Program Manager

Yena Andreev graduated from UCLA with her bachelors in Political Science, followed by a Master of Social Welfare in 2014. She has worked with various populations from transitional aged youths to geriatrics within research prior to her joining the BrainSPORT team. Yena’s personal interest in neuroscience and research has brought her to the lab in which she hopes to expand her knowledge in brain injuries.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Anne is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, where she plays a pivotal role in advancing research on sports-related concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in youth and young adults. Since joining the BrainSPORT team in September 2018, Anne has contributed significantly to studies aimed at improving the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of concussions. She has been involved in pediatric clinical research since 2012, with prior roles at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where she worked on blood disorders clinical trials, and at Nationwide Children's Hospital, on research focused on early development of preterm infants.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Shriya joined the BrainSPORT program in 2024 as a Clinical Research Coordinator on the CARE4Kids study, involved mainly in data collection, organization and processing. After graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and English from UCLA, Shriya began a career in the UCLA Health system to get involved with healthcare research and develop her own research interests. Shriya hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Psychology and eventually work with children and teenagers in both research and clinical capacities!

Vice Chair of Academic Affairs Director, UCLA Brain Injury Research Center

In 1989, Dr. Hovda was recruited by the Department of Neurosurgery to direct its scientific efforts to understand the cellular pathophysiology of brain injury. This work resulted in providing the backbone for UCLA being recognized as a "Center of Excellence" by the National Institutes of Health. He has served as Chair of study sections for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS). 

Director of the Brain Injury Research Center and Associate Director of UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Porgram, Vice Chair Department of Neurosurgery

Dr. Prins is a leader in the field of adolescent traumatic brain injury research. She specializes in brain metabolism after head injuries and understanding the role of alternative substrates in recovery of function. Her research is translational and she collaborates with UCLA Engineering, Pediatric Neurology, Neurosurgery and Neurocritical Care faculty to address the adolescent brain needs after concussion and more significant TBI. In leadership, Dr. Prins integrates and supports the collaborative research to grow the brain stimulation program, headache program, concussion assessment and management program, basic science research lab work in imaging, sensory processing, glymphatics and metabolism. 

Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery

Dr. Neil Harris has worked within the fields of hydrocephalus, stroke and traumatic brain injury. The major theme of his current research at UCLA is understanding the potential for plasticity and function after trauma utilizing both light microscopy cell biology techniques as well as in vivo neuroimaging methodologies.

UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘25

Bill Flavin is a second-year clinical instructor in the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT program and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology, with a research program focused on tau-mediated neurodegeneration in cell and animal models. He completed a BS in biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, where he also competed on the varsity football team. He then completed an MD/PhD at Loyola University Chicago where he studied prion-like mechanisms of pathogenesis and propagation in neurodegenerative disease. He then completed medical internship and residency in adult neurology at UCLA prior to beginning his fellowship in sports neurology. He is active in the care of concussion and traumatic brain injury, from youth to older adults, with a particular focus on sideline diagnosis and management of acute injury as well as optimizing later-in-life brain health for patients with a history of brain injury or exposure to repetitive head impacts. 

UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow '26

Alvin, a New Jersey native, completed his undergraduate, graduate, and medical education at Rutgers University. Driven by his fascination in sports, computers, and biology, he gravitated towards the field of Neurology. Alvin completed his medicine internship at Queens Hospital Center in New York City and went on to complete his Neurology training at the renowned Howard University Hospital. Alvin is now focused on understanding the role that concussion and mild traumatic brain injury plays in altering health outcomes for athletes, veterans, and the general public.

UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow '26

Brad Shane grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he developed a deep appreciation for healthcare equity and the importance of preventative medicine in underserved and diverse communities. He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science with minors in Psychology and Speech Language and Hearing Sciences. Prior to medical school, he gained an interest in traumatic brain injury (TBI) through conducting research on how blue wavelength light could be used to facilitate the recovery of brain structure, function, and cognition following a mild TBI. During his adult neurology residency, he continued TBI research and conducted a quality improvement project related to improving resident headache education. He furthered his passion for academics and teaching in residency as the chief of resident education. His interest in sports neurology grew through rotations in headache, pain, sleep, sports medicine, as well as behavioral neurology. After participating in an away rotation, Brad was drawn to UCLA’s Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Sports Neurology and Neurotrauma Fellowship for its interdisciplinary approach to patient care and the opportunity to work alongside neuropsychologists, research assistants, and occupational therapists. He values the program’s dedication to excellent clinical care and clinical training, as well as numerous opportunities for teaching, conducting clinical research, and volunteering in the community. He is also completing a headache and facial pain fellowship through the UCLA Goldberg Migraine Program. Outside of work, Brad enjoys going to college sports games as well as running, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

Administrative Coordinator

Ms. Kor has worked for the Department of Pediatric Neurology since 2008. She has administratively supported the BrainSPORT program since its inception and is responsible for coordinating patient visits. Janet triages concussion patient inquiries in order to determine what neurocognitive services are needed.

Administrative Support and Clinic Coordinator

Susana has worked at UCLA since 2005 as an Administrative Assistant. She has the roll of supporting the BrainSPORT program clinic schedule and she is responsible for coordinating patient visits. Susana triages concussion patient inquiries in order to determine what neurocognitive services are needed.