Leadership
Core Faculty
Monica Banez Coronel
Research Assistant Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
mbanez@ufl.edu
Jodi L Bubenik
Assistant Scientist (faculty)
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
jbubenik@ufl.edu
John D Cleary
Assistant Scientist
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
john.cleary@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Genetics
- Molecular therapy
- Myotonic Dystrophy
- Rare neuromuscular disorders
- Repeat Expansion Diseases
Kotaro Fujii
Assistant Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
kotaro.fujii@ufl.edu
Lien T Nguyen
Assistant Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
lien.nguyen@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
- Diseases with unknown genetic etiologies
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Repeat Expansion Diseases
- Retrotransposable elements
Belinda Pinto
Assistant Scientist (faculty)
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
belindapinto@ufl.edu
Emily K Plowman
Professor, Doctoral Program Director
Department:
HP-SLP LANG & HEARING SCI
Email:
eplowman@phhp.ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Cardiothoracic Surgery and Postoperative Recovery
- Rare neuromuscular disorders
- Rehabilitation
- Screening tool validation
- dysphagia
Sub Subramony M.D.
Professor
Department:
MD-NEUROMUSCULAR NEUROLOGY
Research Interests:
- Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
- Friedreich’s ataxia
- Mitochondrial myopathy
- Myotonic Dystrophy
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia
Lukasz J Sznajder
Research Assistant Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
ljsznajder@ufl.edu
Margaret R Wallace
Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
peggyw@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Genetics
Eric Wang
Associate Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
eric.t.wang@ufl.edu
James Wymer MD, FAAN
Professor & Division Chief; Melvin Greer Professor
Department:
MD-NEUROMUSCULAR NEUROLOGY
Research Interests:
- ALS
- Muscular dystrophy
- Neuropathy
Tao Zu
Research Assistant Professor
Department:
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Email:
taozu@ufl.edu
Affiliated Faculty
David R Borchelt
Professor, Director SantaFe Health Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
Department:
Department of Neuroscience
Email:
drb1@ufl.edu
Matthew R Burns MD, PhD
Assistant Professor Of Neurology
Department:
MD-NEUROLOGY-MOVEMENT DISORDER
Email:
mburns1@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Deep brain stimulation
- Dementia
- Electrophysiology
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- ataxia
- mechanisms of aging
- neuromodulatory treatments
Miguel Chuquilin Arista MD, FAAN
Associate Professor
Department:
MD-NEUROMUSCULAR NEUROLOGY
Research Interests:
- Autonomic disorder
- Motor Neuron Disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myopathy
- Neuromuscular junction
- Neuropathy
Matthew Farrer PhD
Lauren And Lee Fixel Chair, Professor Of Neurology, Director Of Clinical Genomics Program At UF Clinical And Translational Science Institute
Department:
MD-NEUROLOGY-MOVEMENT DISORDER
Email:
m.farrer@ufl.edu
Timothy J Garrett
Associate Professor
Department:
MD-PATHOLOGY-GENERAL
Email:
tgarrett@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Lipidomics
- Mass Spectrometry
- Metabolomics
Malú Gámez Tansey
Norman and Susan Fixel Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology, Co-Director Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease and the Parkinson’s Foundation Research Center
Department:
Department of Neuroscience
Email:
mgtansey@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- FTD
- Gut Microbiome
- Microglia
- Neuroimmune interactions in Neurodegenerative diseases
- Neuroinflammation
- Parkinson’s disease
Michael Kladde
Professor & Director Of Center For Epigenetics
Department:
MD-BIOCHEM / MOLECULAR BIOL
Email:
kladde@ufl.edu
Matthew J LaVoie PhD
Fixel Family Chair, Co-Director Center Of Translational Research In Neurodegenerative Disease, Associate Chair For Research-Neurology
Department:
MD-NEUROLOGY-MOVEMENT DISORDER
Email:
mlavoie@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Parkinson’s disease
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)

Jada Lewis
Professor, Deputy Director McKnight Brain Institute
Department:
Department of Neuroscience
Email:
jada.lewis@ufl.edu
Nikolaus McFarland MD, PhD
Associate Professor Of Neurology, Wright/Falls/Simmons Professorship In PSP And Atypical Parkinsonism, Director UF HDSA Center Of Excellence
Department:
MD-NEUROLOGY-MOVEMENT DISORDER
Research Interests:
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience
- Huntington’s Disease
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Parkinson’s disease
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
Gordon S Mitchell Ph.D.
PROF
Department:
HP-PHYSICAL THERAPY
Email:
gsmitche@phhp.ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- ALS
- Intermittent hypoxia
- Neuroplasticity
- Respiratory physiology
- Sleep apnea
- Spinal cord injury rehabilitation
Stefan Prokop M.D.
AST PROF
Department:
MD-PATHOLOGY-GENERAL
Email:
sprokop@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Microglia
- Neuroimmune interactions in Neurodegenerative diseases
- Neuropathology of Neurodegenerative diseases
- Parkinson’s disease
Mingyi Xie
Associate Professor
Department:
MD-BIOCHEM / MOLECULAR BIOL
Email:
mingyi.xie@ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Cancer
- Genetics
- RNA
Anthony T Yachnis M.D.
PROF & PRDIR
Department:
MD-PATHOLOGY
Email:
yachnis@pathology.ufl.edu
Research Interests:
- Neuropathology
- Pediatric Neuropathology
- Surgical and Eye Pathology