Center Investigators

	Researcher/Clinician Name	Title	Department	Specialties
	Alison Barnard, DPT, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Pathophysiology in Muscular Dystrophy
	Elisabeth Barton, PhD	Professor & Associate Dean	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Muscular dystrophy and respiratory muscle function
	Richard Berry, MD	Professor	Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Sleep disorders, upper airway physiology, pharmacological treatment of sleep apnea, mechanisms of respiratory arousal
	Jennifer Bizon, PhD	Professor & Chair; Director	Department of Neuroscience; McKnight Brain Institute	Therapeutic intermittent hypoxia and cognitive function in rodent models
	Donald Bolser, PhD	Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Respiratory control, mechanisms of cough, and airway defense
	David Borchelt, PhD	Professor; Director	Department of Neuroscience; Santa Fe Health Alzheimer's Disease Research Center	Prior transmission of ALS
	Prodip Bose, MD, PhD	Associate Professor; Interim Director	Department of Neurology; Brain Rehabilitation Research Center	Spasticity after TBI/SCI
	Andrew Bryant, MD	Clinical Associate Professor	Division of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine; hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension
	Katharina Busl, MD, MS	Professor, Division Chief of Neurocritical Care, & Associate Chair for Clinical Operations	Department of Neurology	Care innovations and quality of neurocritical care; treatment of headache in the NeuroICU, neuroprognostication and medical complications of neurocritical disease
	Barry Byrne, MD, PhD	Professor & Associate Chair; Director	Department of Pediatrics; Gene Powell Center	Pompe disease; gene therapy
	Thomas Clanton, PhD	BK & Betty Stevens Professor	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Inflammation in respiratory muscles
	Erica Dale, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiology & Aging	Spinal stimulation induced phrenic motor plasticity; neurostimulation and functional recovery of breathing capacity after spinal injury
	Paul Davenport, PhD	Distinguished Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Respiratory control, sensation and airway defense
	Irene Estores, MD	Associate Professor & Residency Program Director	Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation	Medical acupuncture; neuropathic pain
	Emily Fox, PT, DPT, PhD, NCS	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Physical Therapy; Brooks-PHHP Research Collaboration & Brooks Neuromuscular Research	Phrenic/diaphragm pacing as rehabilitative tool; therapeutic intermittent hypoxia and spinal injury
	David Fuller, PhD	Professor; Associate Director	Department of Physical Therapy; BREATHE Center	Spinal stimulation and recovery of breathing activity with opiate-induced respiratory depression and spinal injury; Regulation of airway muscles; hyperbaric oxygenation, intermittent hypoxia and respiratory plasticity, Pompe disease
	Elisa Gonzalez-Rothi, DPT, PhD	Research Associate Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Respiratory plasticity induced by neurostimulation and intermittent hypoxia; spinal cord injury; sleep apnea & pathogenic intermittent hypoxia after SCI
	Karen Hegland, PhD, CCC-SLP	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences; Master's of Arts Degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders Program	Cough and respiratory sensation in Parkinson's Disease
	Russell Hepple, PhD	Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Aging and toxicology of respiratory muscle
	Andrew Judge, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Sepsis, cachexia and respiratory muscles
	Sarah Judge, PhD	Research Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Skeletal muscle biology and cancer cachexia
	Christopher Kaufmann, PhD, MHS	Assistant Professor	Department of Health Outcomes & Biomedical Informatics	Sleep disorders and neurodegeneration
	Orlando Laitano, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced myopathy with disuse in aging and on the pathophysiology of exertional heat stroke
	Jorge Lascano, MD	Professor	Division of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Pulmonary critical care
	Jada Lewis, PhD	Professor; Deputy Director	Department of Neuroscience; McKnight Brain Institute	Pathogenic and therapeutic IH in neurodegenerative disease
	Carolina Maciel, MD, MSCR	Associate Professor; Director of Research	Department of Neurology; NCC	Cognitive function after cardiac arrest/recovery; neurocritical care, TBI
	Shawn McGargill, MD	Clinical Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation	Interventional spine care; orthopaedics and rehabilitation; physical medicine and rehabilitation
	Borna Mehrad, MD	Chief & Ethel Smith Research Professor	Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine	Lung disease
	Gordon Mitchell, PhD	Preeminence Professor; Director; Deputy Director	Department of Physical Therapy; BREATHE Center; McKnight Brain Institute	Intermittent hypoxia induced respiratory plasticity, therapeutic intermittent hypoxia in spinal injury and ALS
	Nicholas Napoli, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering	Hyperbaric oxygenation
	Maria Nikodemova, MS, PhD	Research Associate Scientist	Department of Physical Therapy	Microglial plasticity in healthy CNS and during neurodegeneration; APOE4 phenotype, sleep apnea; the role of microglia and neuroinflammation in regulating respiratory motor plasticity during hypoxia and after spinal cord injury
	Aline Oliveira, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics	Neuroimmune axis contribution to pulmonary hypertension; neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity
	Michael Pizzi, DO, PhD, FCCM	Associate Professor	Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery	Preserving the blood-brain barrier after acute brain injury; characterizing the role of the endothelial glycocalyx in regulating cerebral blood flow; investigating the effects of ketone esters on cerebral blood flow; developing models to measure brain compliance
	Laura Ranum, PhD	Professor; Director	Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology; Center for Neurogenetics	Genetics of neurodegenerative neuromuscular disease: myotonic dystrophy and ALS
	Michael Reid, PhD	Professor; Dean	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology; College of Health & Human Performance	Molecular biology of respiratory muscle
	Leah Reznikov, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Neural innervation of the airways, cystic fibrosis
	Christopher Robinson, DO, MS	Associate Professor; Director; Program Director	Department of Neurology; Division Of Neurocritical Care; NCC	Brain death, meningitis, traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and COVID-19 associated neurological complications
	Emma Schachner, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Origin and evolution of major morphological and physiological innovations in vertebrates, with a focus on the evolution of the amniote respiratory system
	Christine Schmidt, PhD	Distinguished Professor & Chair	Department of Biomedical Engineering	Neuroregeneration after peripheral or spinal cord injury
	Yasin B. Seven, MS, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Physiological Sciences	Neuroprotection in spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative diseases, nanoparticle-based targeted drug delivery
	Kimberly Sibille, PhD, MA	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation; Pain TRAIL	Bridging the biomedical, behavioral, and psychosocial chasm in chronic pain
	Barbara Smith, PT, PhD	Research Assistant Professor	Department of Physical Therapy	Pompe disease, diaphragm pacing; therapeutic intermittent hypoxia in ALS patients
	Ashley Smuder, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology	Diaphragm atrophy; response to therapeutics; HBO and diaphragm muscle inflammation in Pompe and SCI
	Ramon Sun, PhD	Associate Professor; Director	Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Center for Spatial Biomolecule Research	Cellular metabolism, signaling, and physiology; disease etiology of neurological disorders
	Lee Sweeney, PhD	Professor; Director	Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics; Myology Institute	Molecular motors of the myosin superfamily; muscular dystrophy
	Tanja Taivassalo, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Physiology & Aging	Muscle dysfunction & therapeutics in human DMD
	Krista Vandenborne, PT, PhD	Distinguished Professor & Chair	Department of Physical Therapy	Respiratory failure in human DMD
	Adrienn Varga, PhD	Assistant Professor	Department of Neuroscience	Role of opioid-sensitive respiratory neurons in the brain in both normal breathing and under the influence of opioids
	Alicia Vose, PhD, CCC-SLP	Assistant Professor	Department of Neurology (UF Health -Jacksonville)	Acute intermittent hypoxia and respiratory strength training to enhance breathing and swallowing in people with chronic spinal cord injury; effects of diaphragm stimulation on respiratory neural drive and function
	Glenn Walter, PhD	Professor & Vice Chair	Department of Physiology & Aging	MRI imaging of respiratory muscles & their plasticity
	James Wymer, MD, FAAN	Professor & Division Chief	Department of Neurology	Diagnosis and management of neuromuscular diseases, including ALS, muscle diseases and peripheral neuropathies