Eric Vãn Belcea

About Eric Vãn Belcea

Hello! I am Eric Vãn (VahN) Belcea (BEL-cha), an undergraduate student with experience in various domains, including music, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and community service. I am a passionate leader who always seeks to make a positive impact through my professional and academic engagements.Currently enrolled at Duke University, I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and minors in Finance and Chemistry. My interests center on understanding and preventing neurodegenerative diseases, as well as driving health systems reform. By leveraging my multidisciplinary experiences, I aspire to advance holistic, prevention-focused patient care and translate scientific innovation into more equitable outcomes.

Experience

1. Clinical Research Coordinator

   Duke University Health System

   May 2023 — Present · Durham, NC, US

   Build and manage the Duke Memory Disorders Clinic Biorepository (MDCB)Principal Investigator Dr. Kim G. Johnson, MDProvide samples to support ongoing research at Duke University aimed at tracking, combating, and understanding the biological, psychological, social, and genetic bases of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementiasResponsibilities include consenting patients (patient education); maintaining research compliance; administering cognitive assessments; processing and storing blood samples; data tracking and entry; facilitating inter-institutional collaboration with the National Centralized Repository for AD and Related Dementias (NCRAD); and extensive collaboration with physicians, clinicians, and researchers in the Duke University Healthcare SystemCollaboration:ISTAART (Alzheimer\'s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer\'s Research and Treatment) memberThe Automated High-purity Exosome isolation-based AD diagnostics (AHEADx) systemInterinstitutional collaboration with the Duke Department of Neurology, Duke Department Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke Department Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke Department Biomedical Engineering, and Harvard Medical School Department of MedicineAHEADx is part of an NIH-funded study to develop the first easy-to-use blood-based diagnostic tool for early-stage AD detection, promising a standardized, affordable, high-accuracy diagnostic solution for AD, with implications in the early application of neuroprotective or disease-modifying treatmentsPresentations:AHEADx at the Duke Neurology Division of Translational Brain Sciences, DCEC, and Duke Neurology Residents Research Symposium - Sep 21, 2023AHEADx at the Alzheimer\'s Association International Conference (AAIC)- Jul 28-29, 2024Publications:AHEADx for \"Alzheimer\'s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer\'s Association\"(first author)- Dec 2024AHEADx - full manuscript submitted for publication

Education

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Physics

• Duke University

  Neuroscience

• DIS - Study Abroad

  Neuroscience

• Ravenscroft School

  High School Diploma, General Studies