Emmanuella A. Asiedu, PhD, MPH is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Asiedu’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the Northern Kentucky University and an MPH in Public Health Epidemiology from Brown University, where her research focused on environmental exposures and neurodevelopment in children. Emmanuella also holds a PhD in Population Health Sciences from the UMass Chan Medical School, where her research focused on the intersection of health equity, chronic disease epidemiology, and social epidemiology. 

Her PhD work looked at how neighborhood contextual and healthcare access & delivery factors impact adverse health outcomes among individuals with T2DM. She has expertise in using multi-methods research approaches including quantitative and qualitative methods.

As a Postdoctoral Associate, she is interested in expanding her research to understand how social determinants of health and living with chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes, hypertension) impact cognitive health, brain aging, and disparities in brain health outcomes.

Melisa Velasco is a Research Associate I at the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology from the University of Florida.

Melisa’s background spans clinical care in neurology and neurosurgery, where she developed experience in patient care coordination, clinical documentation, and supporting physicians in specialty healthcare settings. Her work with neurological patient populations strengthened her interest in cognitive health, neurodegenerative disease, and patient-centered research.

With a strong foundation in health science and a passion for medicine, Melisa is particularly interested in the biological and lifestyle factors that influence brain health, resilience, and healthy aging. She is excited to contribute to research that advances understanding of cognition and improves quality of life for diverse patient populations.

Alyssa Gosling, M.S., is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of Miami with experience supporting neurology and Cardiology clinical trials. She has contributed to trials in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Myasthenia Gravis, with responsibilities spanning patient recruitment, regulatory coordination, protocol implementation, and participant engagement.

Alyssa earned her Master of Biomedical Sciences degree from Florida Atlantic University, where her academic training emphasized tumor immunology and translational research. She is committed to advancing health equity in clinical research and has worked to address disparities in trial participation among underrepresented populations. In support of global research accessibility, she developed a clinical trial registry initiative to increase visibility and engagement in African clinical trials.

Her work centers on expanding equitable access to innovative therapies while maintaining patient-centered, ethical research practices.