Research Summary

The body of research I developed during my graduate and postdoctoral training focused on characterizing & augmenting aspects of cognitive control & skill acquisition using behavioral and neuroimaging technologies. Creating a unique line of research that built upon these domains has involved a strong interdisciplinary emphasis, with these efforts centered on healthy young and older adults, as well as clinical populations involving ADHD, autism, and depressed individuals amongst others. My current work leverages state-of-the-art technological approaches to create i) advanced training tools to remediate cognitive deficiencies (see our cover story in Nature, Anguera et al., 2013) and ii) use mobile technology to robustly characterizing individual abilities in each of these domains outside of the laboratory (contributed to the creation of 10 different mobile apps to date; see Anguera et al., 2016 as an example).

Research Funding

  • September 5, 2021 - May 31, 2023 - Building a shared infrastructure for cognitive assessment in the service of cognitive training research , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21AG074497
  • February 1, 2019 - November 30, 2021 - Enhancing cognitive control abilities using mobile technology in a senior living community , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21AG058896
  • September 19, 2016 - August 31, 2021 - A Computerized Intervention Targeting Cognitive Control Network Deficits in Depression , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R33MH110509
  • August 11, 2017 - July 31, 2021 - Multi-modal Study of Cognitive and Neural Differences in Media Multitaskers , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R56MH111672
  • August 1, 2016 - June 30, 2019 - Scaling a smarter and more efficient intervention: Evaluating the feasibility of disseminating a novel mobile app platform to treat depression , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R34MH110583
  • September 19, 2016 - August 31, 2018 - A Computerized Intervention Targeting Cognitive Control Network Deficits in Depression , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R61MH110509
  • August 1, 2013 - May 31, 2017 - Enhancing Functional Outcomes in Schizophrenia Using a Novel mHealth Approach , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R34MH100399
  • June 24, 2013 - March 31, 2017 - Can mental health apps work in the real world? A feasibility pilot study , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R34MH100466

Education

  • University of California San Diego, BS, 2000, Physiology/Neuroscience
  • California State University Northridge, MS, 2004, Kinesiology
  • University of Michigan Ann Arbor, PhD, 2008, Kinesiology
  • University of California San Francisco, 2013, Neurology (Postdoctoral Fellow)
  • University of California San Francisco, 2014, Psychiatry (Research Scientist)

Honors & Awards

 

  • 2006-2008
    Minority Predoctoral Supplement for Underrepresented Minorities
  • 2007
    University of Michigan Rackham Graduate Student Dissertation Research Grant 
  • 2009-2010
    Minority Postdoctoral Supplement for Underrepresented Minorities
  • 2010-2013
    UCSF Institutional Research and Career Development Award
  • 2011-2014
    NIH Loan Repayment Program recipient
  • 2013
    Ambassador for UCSF 2.0 ‘An Experiment to Identify Bold Ideas for the Future’
  • 2014
    UCSF 150th Anniversary “Young Innovator Awardee” 
  • 2014
    UCSF School of Medicine Technology Transformation Grant
  • 2014
    UCSF Center for Aging in Diverse Communities (CADC) Grant

Selected Publications

  1. O'Laughlin KD, Cheng BH, Volponi JJ, Lorentz JDA, Obregon SA, Younger JW, Gazzaley A, Uncapher MR, Anguera JA. Validation of an Adaptive Assessment of Executive Functions (Adaptive Cognitive Evaluation-Explorer): Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Analyses of Cognitive Task Performance. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Apr 21; 27:e60041.  View on PubMed
  2. Anguera JA, Snowberg K, Paul SM, Cooper BA, Oppegaard K, Harris C, Miaskowski C. A pilot study of a targeted cognitive intervention for cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer. 2025 Mar 07; 33(4):255.  View on PubMed
  3. Anguera JA, Choudhry A, Seaman M, Fedele D. Assessing the Impact of a Virtual Reality Cognitive Intervention on Tennis Performance in Junior Tennis Players: Pilot Study. JMIR Form Res. 2025 Feb 07; 9:e66979.  View on PubMed
  4. Fradkin Y, Anguera JA, Simon AJ, De Taboada L, Steingold E. Transcranial photobiomodulation for reducing symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and modulating brain electrophysiology in children aged 2-7: an open label study. Front Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025; 4:1477839.  View on PubMed
  5. Younger JW, Schaerlaeken S, Anguera JA, Gazzaley A, Project iLEAD Consortium. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts: Using cognitive profiles to predict academic achievement. Trends Neurosci Educ. 2024 Sep; 36:100237.  View on PubMed
  6. Oppegaard KR, Mayo SJ, Armstrong TS, Dokiparthi V, Melisko M, Levine JD, Olshen AB, Anguera JA, Roy R, Paul S, Cooper B, Conley YP, Hammer MJ, Miaskowski C, Kober KM. Neurodegenerative disease pathways are perturbed in patients with cancer who self-report cognitive changes and anxiety: A pathway impact analysis. Cancer. 2024 Aug 15; 130(16):2834-2847.  View on PubMed
  7. Zanto TP, Giannakopoulou A, Gallen CL, Ostrand AE, Younger JW, Anguera-Singla R, Anguera JA, Gazzaley A. Digital rhythm training improves reading fluency in children. Dev Sci. 2024 May; 27(3):e13473.  View on PubMed
  8. Florian Sander, Valeria Manera, Christine R. Krebs, Maylis Touya, Elia Luca Fischer, Traian Popa, Andrea Brioschi Brioschi Guevara, Joaquin A Anguera, Adam Gazzaley, Stefan Klöppel, Gilles Allali, Jean-François Demonet, Philippe Robert, Arseny A Sokolov. Adaptive video games for the assessment and rehabilitation of dementia. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2023 Dec 25; 19(S19).  View on PubMed
  9. Oppegaard KR, Mayo SJ, Armstrong TS, Kober KM, Anguera J, Hammer MJ, Levine JD, Conley YP, Paul S, Cooper B, Miaskowski C. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Higher Levels of Stress Are Associated With the Co-occurrence of Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment and Anxiety. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2023 12; 39(6):151513.  View on PubMed
  10. Becker N, Kim HC, Bright DJ, Williams Iii R, Anguera JA, Arnold EA, Saberi P, Neilands TB, Pollack LM, Tan JY. Acceptability of the LetSync App Wireframes for an mHealth Intervention to Improve HIV Care Engagement and Treatment Among Black Partnered Sexual Minority Men: Findings from In-Depth Qualitative Interviews. JMIR Form Res. 2023 Aug 25; 7:e43676.  View on PubMed
  11. Younger JW, O'Laughlin KD, Anguera JA, Bunge SA, Ferrer EE, Hoeft F, McCandliss BD, Mishra J, Rosenberg-Lee M, Gazzaley A, Uncapher MR. Better together: novel methods for measuring and modeling development of executive function diversity while accounting for unity. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023; 17:1195013.  View on PubMed
  12. Simon AJ, Gallen CL, Ziegler DA, Mishra J, Marco EJ, Anguera JA, Gazzaley A. Quantifying attention span across the lifespan. Front Cognit. 2023; 2.  View on PubMed
  13. Gallen CL, Schachtner JN, Anguera-Singla R, Anguera JA, Gazzaley A. Influence of game features on attention in adults. Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1123306.  View on PubMed
  14. Anguera JA, Rowe MA, Volponi JJ, Elkurdi M, Jurigova B, Simon AJ, Anguera-Singla R, Gallen CL, Gazzaley A, Marco EJ. Author Correction: Enhancing attention in children using an integrated cognitive-physical videogame: A pilot study. NPJ Digit Med. 2023 Apr 25; 6(1):71.  View on PubMed
  15. Oppegaard KR, Mayo SJ, Armstrong TS, Kober KM, Anguera JA, Wright F, Levine JD, Conley YP, Paul S, Cooper B, Miaskowski C. An Evaluation of the Multifactorial Model of Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment. Nurs Res. 2023 Jul-Aug 01; 72(4):272-280.  View on PubMed
  16. Anguera JA, Rowe MA, Volponi JJ, Elkurdi M, Jurigova B, Simon AJ, Anguera-Singla R, Gallen CL, Gazzaley A, Marco EJ. Enhancing attention in children using an integrated cognitive-physical videogame: A pilot study. NPJ Digit Med. 2023 Apr 12; 6(1):65.  View on PubMed
  17. Hsu WY, Anguera JA, Rizzo A, Campusano R, Chiaravalloti ND, DeLuca J, Gazzaley A, Bove RM. A virtual reality program to assess cognitive function in multiple sclerosis: A pilot study. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023; 17:1139316.  View on PubMed
  18. Oppegaard KR, Mayo SJ, Armstrong TS, Anguera JA, Kober KM, Miaskowski C. The Multifactorial Model of Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2023 02 17; 50(2):135-147.  View on PubMed
  19. Gallen CL, Schaerlaeken S, Younger JW, Project iLEAD Consortium, Anguera JA, Gazzaley A. Contribution of sustained attention abilities to real-world academic skills in children. Sci Rep. 2023 02 15; 13(1):2673.  View on PubMed
  20. Oppegaard KR, Armstrong TS, Anguera JA, Kober KM, Kelly DL, Laister RC, Saligan LN, Ayala AP, Kuruvilla J, Alm MW, Byker WH, Miaskowski C, Mayo SJ. Blood-based biomarkers of cancer-related cognitive impairment in non-central nervous system cancer: A scoping review. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2022 Dec; 180:103822.  View on PubMed

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