Angel C. Duncan, PhD

 

 

Angel C. Duncan, PhD, MA-MFT, ATR, is a clinical gerontologist and leader in the neurosciences industry. Over the course of more than two decades, she has led and advanced Phase I–IV clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as in rare cardiac and psychiatric disorders. Her expertise encompasses clinical patient care, operational leadership in study design, site and vendor management, patient recruitment and retention, educational outreach, program development, and the securing of multi-million-dollar grants and philanthropic contributions. She has established and strengthened strategic partnerships among key stakeholders, including investigative site networks, contract research organizations (CROs), healthcare providers, and patient advocacy groups, effectively bridging scientific research and community engagement to enhance care delivery and foster trust.

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Dr. Duncan earned her PhD in Psychology with a specialization in Gerontology, graduating with distinction and in the top 2% of her class at NorthCentral University (now National University). She also holds dual master’s degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University (now Dominican University of California) , where she was one out of two graduate student recipients to be awarded the President’s Graduate Scholarship. Her early research at Stanford University, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, focused on medical procedural anxiety in pediatric oncology patients.​

 

She has held a number of senior leadership positions, including director roles with the Alzheimer’s Association, Senior Helpers, the Neuropsychiatric Research Center of Southwest Florida, as well as academic executive leadership at Albertus Magnus College. She was appointed to serve on the San Francisco and San Mateo County Committees for Aging Adults and Adults with Disabilities and also held a state-level policy advocacy position at the Capitol in Sacramento.

 

In 2019, she founded and co-developed the Arts in Mind program at the Yale University Art Gallery, a program that she continues to co-facilitate. In 2021, she held the position of Program Manager, Clinical Trials and Education, at Life Molecular Imaging (now Lantheus), where she currently serves as Clinical Trial Manager within Clinical Operations R&D. In this capacity, she specializes in PET biomarker clinical research trials focused on neurodegenerative diseases, as well as patient advocacy, provider engagement, and the development of strategic business partnerships.

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Dr. Duncan serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Cognitive Dynamics Foundation and from 2020-2026, with the Alzheimer’s Education Resource Services (AERS). She resides on the Advisory Council for the Area Agency on Aging in Central Illinois, and serves as a scientific peer reviewer for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Journal of Behavioral Science, with contribution reviews across other publications. For eight years, she resided on the American Art Therapy Association's Research and Journal Peer Review Committees (Journal of the American Art Therapy Association). Her expertise has been featured on multiple podcasts and other diverse media including The Los Angeles Times, The Star Ledger, The San Jose Mercury News, CBS news, NPR, Huffington Post, and Neurology Now (Brain & Life). Widely published in academic and professional journals, she is also a sought-after speaker and consultant, working with global leading organizations in brain health, dementia care, policy and aging-in-place initiatives.