Welcome Livia Umeda!

Please join us in welcoming Livia Umeda, MT-BC (Research Assistant) to our UCSF Division of Geriatrics!

Livia started this past Monday morning and will work with Dr. Theresa Allison and Morgan Nguyen to support the Music and Dementia Research Lab.  Livia graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy.  She is earning her two master’s degrees in education with a Special Interest Concentration in Disability Justice and Public Administration from San Francisco State University.

In her most recent role at The Music Therapy Spot, she organized four national online events for 2024 and prepared the groundwork for events in 2025. Livia created and facilitated the organization’s strategic plan with the Board of Directors. Moreover, she maintained a good relationship with potential donors, partners, and funders. Livia received her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. She is board-certified as a music therapist and a neurologic music therapist from the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy Inc.

As a Research Assistant, Livia will help coordinate research protocols, data collection, and operations of various clinical research studies. She will also be conducting many in-home observational studies with older adults who are newly diagnosed with dementia. Livia will be onsite at the VA campus on Mondays and Wednesdays. She can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected] if you need to reach her.  We are so excited that she has joined our growing Division.  Please help us welcome her to the team!