Team | Huntington's Disease | UC Davis Health

Alexandra (Sasha) Duffy, D.O., is the director of the HDSA Center of Excellence at UC Davis. She joined the Department of Neurology and has been working alongside the HD care team since 2015. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology and a member of the Huntington Study Group. She also serves as the Adult Neurology Residency Program Director and Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Neurology.

Lorin Scher is the co-director of the HSDA Center of Excellent at UC Davis since 2015 and has been working in the HD clinic for many years. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is a board-certified in General Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine. He also serves as the Medical Student Education Director and Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Psychiatry. 

Vicki Wheelock, M.D., is the founder of our HDSA Center of Excellence at UC Davis which was established in 1997. She was the Director of our center for over 25 years where she dedicated herself to the care of HD patients and their families. Wheelock retired in June of 2023, but we are often blessed with seeing her at local HD community events.

Celia Chang, M.D., is a Health Sciences clinical professor in the Department of Neurology at UC Davis. She is board certified in Neurology. A member of the Child Neurology Society, her practice focuses on children suffering from diseases and congenital disorders of the nervous and neuromuscular systems, including epilepsy, movement disorders, muscular dystrophies, and muscle weakness. As a consultant child neurologist, she brings more than 15 years of experience and expertise in pediatric neurology to the HD Center of Excellence team.

Lisa Mooney is the licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) for the HDSA Center of Excellence and Northern California Chapter. HD patients, family members, and community providers can call Lisa regarding HD resources, community resources and benefits, information and education, and long term care planning.

Mara received her Masters’ Degree in Genetic Counseling from UC Berkeley in 1992. She joined the UC Davis HDSA Center of Excellence in 2008. She documents family histories, answers questions about genetics, DNA testing, and reproductive options, and she helps people who are considering predictive testing. Mara also works as a genetic counselor for Kaiser in Northern California where she coordinates a Genetic Movement Disorder Clinic and annual HD education event.

Kat is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. She works at UC Davis Medical Center primarily on acute care neurological and neurosurgical units in the hospital. She also assesses and treats patients in the emergency room with acute dizziness. She has been working as a physical therapy for almost a decade and brings her years of experience to the UC Davis HDSA Center of Excellence since joining out team in 2023. 

Christopher Long is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. He works as a lead physical therapist at UC Davis Medical Center working with patients with neurological illness. He has been working as a physical therapist for over a decade and brings his years of experience to UC Davis HDSA Center of Excellence since joining our care team in 2023.