Scientific Advisors
Larry Benowitz, Ph.D.
Director, Laboratories for Neuroscience Research in Neurosurgery and Associate Professor of Neurosurgery Children's Hospital Boston
Larry Benowitz, Ph.D. is the Director of the Laboratories for Neuroscience Research in Neurosurgery at Children's Hospital Boston. Dr. Larry Benowitz is noted for his work in the field of axon regeneration and his contributions to the discovery of the GAP-43 protein along with his recent work with inosine, oncomodulin and mannose, factors that up-regulate the expression of genes required for axon growth. Dr. Benowitz's research goals are to discover the basic mechanisms that control the growth of nerve connections and to apply insights from this work to promote regeneration and functional recovery after CNS injury. He received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology, where he completed a fellowship in biology. He subsequently completed fellowships in psychology and brain sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in biological chemistry at Harvard Medical School.
Joseph R. Bianchine, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.C.P.
Scientific Advisory Board Member, Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Former Senior Scientific Advisor, Schwarz Pharma AG.
Dr. Joseph R. Bianchine joined the Scientific Advisory Board of Alseres Pharmaceuticals in May 2005. A former Senior Scientific Advisor for Schwarz Pharma AG, Dr. Bianchine is currently a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, a Diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology, and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, a position he has held for the past 23 years. Dr. Bianchine's experience spans both industry and academia: He has held senior positions at Pharmacia & Upjohn, Farmitalia-Carlo Erba and Hoffman LaRoche, as well as faculty positions at Ohio State University College of Medicine, Texas Tech University (Lubbock) and Johns Hopkins University College of Medicine. Dr. Bianchine has authored over 300 scientific articles and book chapters in the area of clinical pharmacology and founded the Parkinson's Disease Research Institute at Texas Tech. He received his doctorate in Pharmacology at Albany Medical College and his M.D. from State University of New York (Syracuse).
John F. Ditunno, Jr. M.D.
Professor and former Chairman of Rehabilitation Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA
John F. Ditunno, Jr. M.D. is a Professor and former Chairman of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College. For more than three decades, Dr. Ditunno has been a leader in the field of spinal cord injury care, education and research. His current role is as a researcher for Thomas Jefferson University, Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley (RSCICDV). He became Emeritus Project Director in 2006, after serving as Project Directory of the RSCICDV since 1978. Dr. Ditunno was the chairman and editor of the "International Standards for Neurological and Functional Classification of Spinal Cord Injury," which provides a universal language for classifying persons with spinal cord injury that has been accepted by rehabilitation practitioners throughout the world.
James Fawcett, M.D.
Chairman of Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, Professor of Experimental Neurology University of Cambridge, UK and Director of Medical Studies, King's College.
James Fawcett, M.D. is Chairman of Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, Professor of Experimental Neurology University of Cambridge, UK and Director of Medical Studies, King's College. Dr. Fawcett is an organizer of the ICCP (International Campaign for Cures for Spinal Cord Injury Paralysis) group developing protocols for clinical trials in spinal cord injury and he is Chairman of the External Advisory Panel to ICORD (International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries). His research group is a member of the Christopher Reeve Foundation consortium. His research focuses on axon regeneration and plasticity in the central nervous system and on the response to brain and spinal cord injury. His research has shown that treatments that modify the extracellular matrix can promote repair and recovery.
Michael G. Fehlings M.D. Ph.D. FRCSC FACS
Professor of Neurosurgery and McLaughlin Scholar in Molecular Medicine, University of Toronto; Chairman of the Spinal Program, Toronto Western Hospital; Medical Director of the Krembil Neuroscience Center, University Health Network and Krembil Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration.
Michael G. Fehlings M.D. Ph.D. FRCSC FACS is a Professor of Neurosurgery and McLaughlin Scholar in Molecular Medicine at the University of Toronto, Chairman of the Spinal Program at the Toronto Western Hospital, Medical Director of the Krembil Neuroscience Center at the University Health Network and Krembil Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration. His main clinical interests are in complex spinal neurosurgery, and his research focus is in molecular mechanisms underlying spinal cord injury and translational research related to spine and spinal cord conditions. In this regard, Dr. Fehlings directs a New Emerging Team in Spinal Cord Injury Regenerative Medicine and Nanotechnology which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Fehlings is a co-principal investigator in the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation funded North American Clinical Trials Network, co-director of the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Network and co-chair of the renowned Spine Trauma Study Group. He is the principal investigator in the Cethrin PhaseI/IIa clinical trial.
Zhigang He, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Children's Hospital Boston
Dr. Zhigang He is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Children's Hospital Boston. He is most noted for his work with the Nogo receptor mediated pathway and identification of factors that inhibit axon regeneration. His laboratory is researching the cellular and molecular mechanisms that determine the motility and directionality of developing and regenerating axons. He aims to use these paradigms to design therapeutic strategies to stimulate the outgrowth or retraction of specific axonal tracts in human diseases. Dr. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at UCSF. Dr. He is a Klingenstein Fellow in Neuroscience, a John Merck Scholar, a McKnight Scholar, and is a recipient of Ameritec Prize for significant accomplishment toward a cure for paralysis in 2005.
Daniel P. Lammertse, M.D.
Medical Director , Craig Hospital, Denver, CO
Daniel P. Lammertse, M.D. is the Medical Director of Craig Hospital which is designated as a Spinal Cord Injury Model System program by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). He is a past- President of the American Spinal Injury Association and is the immediate past- Chair of the NIDRR SCI Model Systems Project Directors Committee. He has also served on the American Paraplegia Society Board of Directors and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. He has an appointment as Associate Clinical Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Colorado. Dr. Lammertse serves on the External Advisory Panel of the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), and the Scientific Review Board of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Dr. Lammertse is an active member of the International Campaign for Cures for spinal cord injury Paralysis (ICCP) workgroup that has been developing guidelines for the conduct of clinical trials in spinal cord injury.
John D. Steeves, Ph.D.
John and Penny Ryan BC Leadership Chair and Professor Departments of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences, Surgery (Neurosurgery) and Zoology , University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
John D. Steeves, Ph.D. is the John and Penny Ryan BC Leadership Chair and Professor in the Departments of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences, Surgery (Neurosurgery) and Zoology at University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Dr. Steeves is the founding director of ICORD (International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries), which is multidisciplinary research group focused on clinical and discovery research directed to spinal cord injuries (SCI). He is also an organizer of ICCP (International Campaign for Cures for Spinal Cord Injury Paralysis) group developing protocols for clinical trials in spinal cord injury. Professor Steeves' research has focused on the mechanisms essential to facilitate functional repair after central nervous system (CNS) damage. He is recognized as a pioneer for his detailed characterizations of the pathways from the brain to the spinal cord that are important for controlling movement and has made major contributions to understanding the role of myelin in spinal cord repair.
Mark Tuszynski M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Neurosciences, University of California- San Diego (UCSD), Vice-Chair of the Department, and Director of the UCSD Center for Neural Repair
Mark Tuszynski is Professor of Neurosciences at University of California- San Diego (UCSD), Vice-Chair of the Department, and Director of the UCSD Center for Neural Repair. Dr. Tuszynski's pioneering research focuses on the role of growth factors in influencing plasticity and regeneration in the adult central nervous system. He actively researches the topics of aging, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, and cellular mechanisms of normal memory.