CURRENT FELLOWS
Jonathan Galli, MD
James T. Lubin Fellow, The University of Utah
Dr. Galli received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, VT, and completed his neurology residency at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT, where he worked with Fellowship mentor, Dr. Clardy. As part of his fellowship training, he plans to conduct research to look for biomarkers in individuals with NMOSD. He intends to see whether individuals have aquaporin4 (AQP4) autoantibodies prior to their symptom onset of NMOSD, and also look for other inflammatory biomarkers. He hopes the study will help us understand how biomarkers occur over the course of the disorder, which will hopefully help identify predictors of disease development, and ultimately therapeutic targets.
Kyle Blackburn, MD
James T. Lubin Fellow, University of Texas Southwestern
Dr. Blackburn received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, KY, and completed his neurology residency at The University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, TX, where he worked with his Fellowship mentor, Dr. Greenberg. During his fellowship, he plans to launch a study that will collect patient reported outcome measures on adult and pediatric patients with transverse myelitis. The study aims to assess current outcomes in transverse myelitis, and to inform the development of outcome measures for future clinical trials.
PAST FELLOWS
Olwen Murphy, MB BCH MRCP
Neuroimmunology Fellow, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Murphy received her medical degree from University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland and completed a neurology residency at The Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. She was a James T. Lubin Fellow at The Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelitis Center (JHTMC) in Baltimore, MD, under the mentorship of Dr. Carlos Pardo-Villamizar. Dr. Murphy’s research was on predicting outcomes after a diagnosis of a transverse myelitis using current imaging techniques and spinal fluid analysis. The goal of the research project was to identify patterns or biomarkers that can be used in day-to-day clinical practice to identify benefits from therapies and help make better decisions about care.
Cynthia Wang, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Texas Southwestern
Dr. Wang received her medical degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and completed a pediatrics and pediatric neurology residency at Mott Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cynthia Wang completed her James T. Lubin Fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Greenberg at The University of Texas Southwestern and Children’s Health. Her research study was a prospective, longitudinal study on acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) to identify the clinical characteristics, treatment methods, and follow-up interventions that are associated with better and worse patient-centered outcomes.
Elena Grebenciucova, MD
Instructor of Neurology (MS/Neuroimmunology), Northwestern University, IL
Dr. Grebenciucova received her medical degree from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She then completed a neurology residency at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Grebenciucova has been interested in autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system, including rare neuroimmune disorders, since medical school. After residency she completed a Fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Brenda Banwell at the Perelman School of Medicine of The University of Pennsylvania. Currently she is an Instructor of Neurology (MS/Neuroimmunology) at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Michael Sweeney, MD
Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, KY
Dr. Sweeney completed his undergraduate degree in biological sciences with a focus on neuroscience at Purdue University. Following completion of medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he entered into a combined pediatrics and child neurology residency/fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. There, he focused his efforts into learning to manage both common and rare neurologic diseases in children. He developed clinical and research interests in immune-mediated neurologic diseases, including multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica, transverse myelitis, optic neuritis and antibody mediated encephalitis. He also worked closely with medical students and residents, demonstrating a strong dedication to education. Dr. Sweeney began his Fellowship at the University of Utah in July 2015 under the mentorship of Dr. Stacey Clardy. Currently he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
Allen D. Desena, MD, MPH
Carolinas HealthCare System Neurosciences Institute – Edgehill, NC
Dr. Allen DeSena attended medical school at Loyola-Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, IL, located in the greater Chicago area. From there, he went on to complete a residency in general pediatrics in New Orleans, LA at the Tulane-Ochsner pediatric program, and he earned his board certification in general pediatrics in 2009. Following his general pediatrics training, he moved to Dallas, TX, where he completed a residency in pediatric neurology at UT-Southwestern Medical Center in conjunction with Children’s Medical Center-Dallas and Parkland Memorial Hospital. During that time, his interest in transverse myelitis and other neuro-immunologic disorders blossomed, and he pursued further training in those areas. In 2012, he was the recipient of the first James T. Lubin fellowship award from SRNA to pursue a clinical and research career in transverse myelitis and other related disorders mentored by Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, Director of the TM and NMO Centers at UTSW in Dallas. He was the first pediatric neurology fellow to study the rare spectrum of neuro-immunological disorders, with a particular focus on Transverse Myelitis. Prior to his current position, he was an Assistant Professor in the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine in Ohio. Currently, Dr. DeSena practices in Charlotte, NC at Atrium Health.
Participating Institutions
Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelitis Center, Baltimore, MD
Mentor: Carlos Pardo-Villamizar, MD
Bio
Dr. Pardo is an Associate Professor of Neurology (Division of Neuroimmunology and Neuroinfectious Disorders) and Pathology (Neuropathology) and Director of the Johns Hopkins Myelitis and Myelopathy Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the principal investigator of the Neuroimmunopathology Laboratory, member of the HIV Neurosciences Research Group and clinical neurologist at the Multiple Sclerosis and Transverse Myelitis Centers at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His clinical specialization is on neuroimmunological and Infectious disorders of the nervous system, with particular focus on multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, neurosarcoidosis, and neurological complications of autoimmune disorders.
Contact: cpardov1@jhmi.edu
Website: Click here
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Mentor: Benjamin Greenberg, MD, MHS
Bio
Dr. Benjamin Greenberg received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and his Masters Degree in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Then, he completed an internship in medicine at Rush Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois before going on to his residency in neurology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He then joined the faculty within the division of neuroimmunology at Hopkins and became the Co-Director of the Transverse Myelitis Center and Director of the Encephalitis Center. In January of 2009 he was recruited to the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he was named Director of the new Transverse Myelitis and Neuromyelitis Optica Program. That same year he established the Pediatric Demyelinating Disease Program at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. He serves as the Director of the Neurosciences Clinical Research Center. Dr. Greenberg is recognized internationally as an expert in rare autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system (e.g., transverse myelitis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, ADEM and autoimmune encephalitis). He splits his clinical time between seeing both adult and pediatric patients. He routinely consults on the inpatient units of Clements University Hospital, Zale Lipshy, Parkland and Childrens Medical. His research interests are in both the diagnosis and treatment of transverse myelitis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, encephalitis, multiple sclerosis and infections of the nervous system. He is actively involved in developing better ways to diagnose and prognosticate for patients with these disorders. He has led an effort to improve biorepository development and has created uniform protocols for sample handling and analysis. As part of this initiative, his research has identified novel biomarkers that may be able to distinguish between patients with various neurologic disorders. He also coordinates trials that study new treatments to prevent neurologic damage and restore function to those who have already been affected.
Contact: benjamin.greenberg@utsouthwestern.edu
Website: Click here
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
Mentor: Brenda Banwell, MD
Bio
Dr. Banwell graduated with a degree in medicine from The University of Western Ontario in 1991. She pursued a residency in pediatrics at The Hospital of Western Ontario, University of Western Ontario, from 1991-1994 and a pediatric neurology residency at The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto from 1994-1997. Dr. Banwell then spent two years completing a neuromuscular disease fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. In 1999, Dr. Banwell was appointed as an assistant professor of pediatrics (neurology) at the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto. She was promoted to associate professor in 2006 and full professor in 2012. As of July 1, 2012, Dr. Banwell has taken on the role of chief of neurology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Banwell’s clinical and research interests are in pediatric multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory brain disorders. Dr. Banwell is the lead Investigator of a 24 site study of acquired demyelination in children, a study that has been continuously funded since 2004. The Canadian Pediatric Demyelinating Disease study now partners with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and has collaborative research projects with the US Network of MS Centers. A comprehensive clinical, biospecimen, and research-quality MRI database has been established, serving as a core resource to evaluate biomarkers, as well as clinical-radiographic features of TM, ON, ADEM, NMOSD and MS in children. The Demyelinating Disease Program at CHOP is fully integrated with the MS program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to create an age-span program for demyelinating disorders, and was recently recognized as a National MS Center of Excellence. The program has a National MS Society funded MS Fellowship program with a well-organized educational mandate.
Contact: BanwellB@email.chop.edu
Website: Click here
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Mentor: Stacey L. Clardy, MD, PhD
Bio
Dr. Clardy is both clinical and research faculty in the Division of Neuroimmunology within the Department of Neurology. Prior to joining the University of Utah team Dr. Clardy furthered her training with a fellowship in Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic. Her training and experience focus on the evaluation and management of autoimmune and paraneoplastic disorders of the nervous system. The spectrum of autoimmune and paraneoplastic neurological disorders intersects all traditional neurology subspecialties, including movement disorders, epilepsy, behavioral/cognitive, neuromuscular, autonomic, demyelinating, and neurooncologic.
Her main clinical interest is devoted to patients affected by antibody-mediated disorders of the nervous system, as well as demyelinating CNS disease, including neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis, and Central nervous system complications of rheumatologic disease.
She established the Autoimmune Neurology Clinic at the University of Utah, one of the few clinics in the United States focused on serving this group of patients. Dr. Clardy is also the Director of the Autoimmune Neurology Fellowship program.
Contact: stacey.clardy@hsc.utah.edu
Website: Click here