Planning Committee
Planning Committee
Prof. Gene Gurkoff, PhD
University of California Davis
Prof. Isobel Scarisbrick, PhD
Mayo Clinic
Asst. Prof. Douglas Smith, MD
University of Pennsylvania
Asst. Prof. Douglas Smith, MD
University of Pennsylvania
Douglas Smith, is the Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor of Teaching and Research in Neurosurgery and Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania. He is recognized globally as one of the foremost experts on concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI), including more severe forms of TBI. Dr. Smith holds prominent leadership roles internationally. He currently serves as Scientific Director of the Big Ten/Ivy League Collaboration on Concussion. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards for the National Football League (NFL), the NCAA–Department of Defense (DoD) Concussion Consortium, and the International Concussion Society. Additionally, he serves as an inaugural trustee of the Mind Your Brain Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting TBI survivors and their caregivers through education and outreach. His research has advanced the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of concussion. Furthermore, his group was the first to reveal how concussion and more severe TBI can lead to progressive neurodegeneration, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Smith has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications, which are among the most highly cited in the field, earning him an h-index of over 100. His research excellence has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards.
Dr. Corina Bondi, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Corina Bondi, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Bondi’s laboratory explores therapeutic strategies after experimental TBI, such as pharmacotherapies and environmental enrichment, for complex neurobehavioral deficits and neurochemical alterations relevant to psychiatric disorders and comorbidities. Her team pursues a variety of behavioral, neurochemical, and molecular-based approaches encompassing the overlap of cognitive neuroscience, stress circuitry, and TBI neuropathology.
Asst. Prof. Theresa Currier Thomas, PhD
University of South Florida
Dr. Cole Vonder Haar, PhD
The Ohio State University
Dr. Cole Vonder Haar, PhD
The Ohio State University
Dr. Vonder Haar is a behavioral neuroscientist studying preclinical TBI. He is particularly interested in how chronic symptoms develop and might be treated.
Dr. Stefanie Robel, PhD
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Dr. Adam Ferguson, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Audrey Lafrenaye, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Audrey Lafrenaye, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Lafrenaye is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work focuses on investigating the diffuse pathologies associated with TBI in pigs, rats, and human postmortem tissues.
Dr. Eve Tsai, MD/PhD
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Dr. Laura Ngwenya, MD/PhD
University of Cincinnati
Prof. Ramesh Raghupathi, PhD
Drexel University
Dr. Olga Kokiko-Cochran, PhD
The Ohio State
Dr. Olga Kokiko-Cochran, PhD
The Ohio State
I have been a member of NNS since 1991. My research focuses on identifying the cellular mechanisms underlying chronic behavioral/functional deficits following TBI to the developing brain.
Asst. Prof. Kajana Satkunendrarjaha, PhD
University of Miami
Asst. Prof. Kajana Satkunendrarjaha, PhD
University of Miami
Kajana Satkunendrarajah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on the neural control of movement, with particular emphasis on understanding the circuits that govern breathing and motor function in both health and disease. Her lab aims to uncover mechanisms and develop therapeutic strategies for spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions that impair movement.
Dr. Dylan McCreedy
TAMU
Dr. Dylan McCreedy
TAMU
Dr. Dylan McCreedy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University and is a TIRR Foundation Faculty Fellow. The McCreedy Lab’s research focuses on the complex roles of acute inflammation in tissue damage and wound healing after spinal cord injury.
Asst. Prof. Kristi Streeter, PhD
Marquette
Asst. Prof. Kristi Streeter, PhD
Marquette
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Marquette University. I teach the Neuroanatomy content for the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program and run the Respiratory Neural Control Lab in the College of Health Sciences. Our lab is particularly interested in the role of phrenic afferents in the control of breathing and developing novel therapeutic strategies to improve breathing after spinal cord injury.
Dr. Daniel Hellenbrand, PhD
UW Madison
Dr. Daniel Hellenbrand, PhD
UW Madison
Dr. Hellenbrand earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, where he currently conducts research in the Department of Neurosurgery. His work focuses on developing treatments to improve motor function after spinal cord injury, with the ultimate goal of enhancing patients' quality of life.
Dr. Michael Mccrea
MCW
Dr. McCrea is the Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, PhD Professor and Endowed Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where he also serves as Vice Chair of Research and Co-Director for the MCW Center for Neurotrauma Research (CNTR). He is Director of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center (CNRC) at the Wisconsin Institute of Neuroscience (WINS) and has an appointment as a research neuropsychologist at the Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Dr. Jaclyn Iannucci, PhD
TAMU
Dr. Gabriel Nah, PhD
University of Colorado
Dr. Gabriel Nah, PhD
University of Colorado
Gabriel Nah, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Rachel Rowe’s laboratory at the University of Colorado. His research investigates the effects of traumatic brain injury on sleep, inflammation, and cognitive function. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience from Indiana University and contributes to mentoring initiatives and professional service within the neurotrauma community.
Program Information
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