Spinal Cord Injury Core

BREATHE is devoted to developing new therapeutics to restore breathing and airway defense, walking, and health in those living with spinal cord injuries. A particular focus is to harness spinal cord plasticity through intermittent hypoxia or spinal cord electrical stimulation to restore function.

	Researcher/Clinician Name	Title	Department	Specialties
	Jason Blatt, MD, FAANS, FAAP	Assistant Professor	Department of Neurosurgery	Pediatric neurosurgery, with a special focus on brain tumors (including complex and re-do surgery), epilepsy, minimally-invasive and transnasal brain surgery, and congenital spinal disorders.
	Prodip Bose, MD, PhD	Associate Professor & Interim Director	Department of Neurology; Brain Rehabilitation Research Center	Spasticity after TBI/SCI
	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
	David Clark, ScD	Associate Professor	Department of Aging & Geriatric Research	Rehabilitation from stroke and SCI (human movement)
	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
	Matthew Decker, MD, MBA, MPH	Assistant Professor	Department of Neurosurgery	Treating spinal pathologies such as traumatic injuries, degenerative spine, spinal tumors, and infectious conditions.
	Andrew Dubin, MD	Vice Chair of Education	Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation	Electric stimulation; chronic pain
	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; Clinical Associate Director	Department of Physical Therapy; Brooks-PHHP Research Collaboration & Brooks Neuromuscular Research; BREATHE Center	Phrenic/diaphragm pacing as rehabilitative tool; therapeutic intermittent hypoxia and spinal injury
	David Fuller, PhD	Professor; Associate Director; Associate Director for Research	Department of Physical Therapy; BREATHE Center; College of Public Health & Health Professions	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
	Lance Governale, MD, FAANS, FAAP	Chief	Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery	Pediatric neurosurgery with a speical interest in craniosynostosis, minimally invasive neurosurgery (including endoscopic treatment of hydrocephalus and craniosynostosis), brain/spinal cord tumors, tethered spinal cords, arachnoid cysts, and cavernous malformations.
	Daniel Hoh, MD, MBA	Professor	Department of Neurosurgery	Applying innovative surgical techniques and novel technologies for the treatment of spinal degeneration, trauma, deformity, tumors and rheumatologic and infectious disorders.
	Qing Lu, PhD	Professor	Department of Biostatistics	Statistical genetics and statistical/machine learning, with a special interest in developing statistical/machine learning methods (e.g., tree and deep learning) for high-dimensional data analyses (e.g., genetic data analysis).
	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
	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
	Gregory Murad, MD, FAANS	Professor	Deparment of Neurosurgery	Applying innovative surgical techniques and novel technologies for the treatment of spinal degenerative, trauma, deformity, tumor, rheumatologic and infectious disorders, as well as novel treatments and management strategies for severe traumatic brain Injury.
	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
	Dana Otzel, PhD, ATC, LAT	Health Science Specialist	Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center	Human and rodent studies of muscle/bone rehabilitation after SCI
	Karim Oweiss, PhD	Professor	Department of Biomedical Engineering	Neuroengineering, cortical compensation for SCI; neural interface design to restore, augment or repair lost sensorimotor function
	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
	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
	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
	Guogen Shan, PhD	Professor	Department of Biostatistics	Clinical trial design & analysis.
	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
	Floyd Thompson, PhD	Professor Emeritus	Department of Neuroscience	Spasticity after TBI/SCI
	Heather Vincent, PhD, FACSM	Associate Professor	Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation	Rehabilitation from SCI
	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
	Samuel Wu, PhD, MS	Professor & Associate Chair	Department of Biostatistics	Adaptive design of clinical trials, simultaneous statistical inference, and data privacy technologies.