Dr. Beirowski received his medical degree from the University of Cologne, Germany, in 2005. After clinical internships and experimental research in nephrology, he was recruited by the laboratory of Dr. Michael Coleman to work on projects revolving around the molecular mechanisms of axon degeneration. Dr. Beirowski obtained his PhD degree from the University of Cambridge in 2010. He completed his postdoctoral research on axon-glia interactions in Dr. Jeffrey Milbrandt’s laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, in 2014. His research was supported by a German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Research Fellowship, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Long-term fellowship, and Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Career Development Award. Dr. Beirowski established his independent laboratory supported by intra- and extramural funding in the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute in Buffalo, NY, in 2014. Dr. Beirowski was excited to relocate to The Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center in 2022.

Ayobami Ward, M.D., Sc.M. is a neurosurgery resident and post-doctoral researcher in the Giger Lab in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan. He received his master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, before and his Doctorate in Medicine from The Medical College of Georgia. During medical school, his research focused on the neuroimmunology of traumatic brain injury, specifically investigating the role of macrophage polarization in the inflammatory response to cranial trauma.

Currently, his research focuses on the molecular underpinnings of peripheral nerve regeneration with context to human brachial plexus injury and repair. His work utilizes a translational approach to investigating human peripheral nerve injury (PNI) with the goal of improving regeneration and functional outcomes in human patients.

Yu Su is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Slusher Lab at Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery (JHDD), focusing his research on developing innovative therapeutic interventions targeting the peripheral nervous system (PNS). His investigations center on peripheral nerve regeneration after injury, Schwann cell functionality, and aging-related muscle degeneration.

Dr. Su obtained his M.D., Ph.D. from Central South University in China, undergoing a three-year co-education program with the University of Michigan during his graduate studies. His research experience involved extensive engagement with the PNS, particularly muscle physiology and neuromuscular junctions.

Motivated to bring his PNS experience into clinical translation, Dr. Su joined JHDD—an extraordinary platform facilitating translational research. His current research utilizes small-molecule inhibitors for GCPII enzymes to rejuvenate aged Schwann cells' capacity for remyelination following nerve injury.

Xuewei Wang, Ph.D. is a neurobiologist who studies molecular mechanisms of mammalian axon regeneration and neuroprotection. Dr. Wang received his Bachelor of Medicine in Basic Medical Sciences and Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Peking University (Beijing, China). He then completed his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University under the supervision of Dr. Fengquan Zhou. He is currently an Assistant Professor at University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.

Using mouse sciatic nerve regeneration and optic nerve regeneration models, Dr. Wang’s postdoctoral work focused on two important factors regulating the intrinsic axon regeneration ability of neurons: gene transcription regulation and cytoskeleton dynamics. He recently started his independent career at the current institution. His laboratory will combine multiomics sequencing and axon regeneration models to delineate the epigenomic and transcriptiomic landscapes facilitating axon regeneration.

Dr. Pabitra Sahoo is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University-Newark. He received his Ph.D. from The National Center for Cell Science, University of Pune, India studying the connections between Wnt signaling and stress granules (SGs) with Dr. Jomon Joseph. In his graduate studies, he investigated SGs that formed under pharmacological stress conditions, which piqued his interest in identifying the roles of SGs during physiological conditions. He then joined the lab of Dr. Jeff Twiss at the University of South Carolina where he used different types of neurons to answer this question. His laboratory uses cutting-edge cell and molecular techniques combined with genetic tools to study the biology and functions of physiological SGs in neural repair, neurodevelopment, and neurodegeneration.

Dr. Mehmet Can Sari earned his medical degree from Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Turkey, in 2023. He is currently a second-year postdoctoral research fellow in the Hoke Lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology. His research focuses on understanding the developmental and regenerative roles of mRNA methylation in Schwann cells through the deletion of Mettl14. By exploring this mechanism, he aims to uncover novel therapeutic approaches for peripheral nervous system disorders. Dr. Sari is committed to advancing translational neuroscience and bridging the gap between clinical practice and preclinical research. His ultimate career goal is to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Ahmet Hoke by becoming a physician-scientist neurologist, specializing in disorders of the peripheral nervous system. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Sari plans to pursue a neurology residency to further his clinical training. He is an active member of the American Neurological Association and the Society for Neuroscience. His studies have been recognized with several awards from the American Neurological Association and local conferences. He is a recipient of the prestigious Merkin Microgrant Program.

Michael J. Caterina M.D., Ph.D., is the Solomon H. Snyder Professor of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Neurosurgery Pain Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of the Department of Biological Chemistry. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Biological Chemistry, Department of Neuroscience, and is a member of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Biochemistry and Molecular Biology graduate program. Dr. Caterina earned his bachelor's degree from The Pennsylvania State University and his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During his postdoctoral fellowship, he discovered and characterized TRPV1, an ion channel protein expressed in pain-sensing neurons that can be activated either by capsaicin, the pungent chemical in spicy peppers, or by painfully hot temperatures. Dr. Caterina’s lab studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie pathological pain, and seeks to develop genetically encoded tools to treat pain, predominantly using mouse models. His work has been recognized with the 2005 Patrick Wall Young Investigator Award from the International Association for the Study of Pain and the 2013 Donlin M. Long Pain Service Award from the Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Research Program.

Dr. Jeremy Sullivan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Sullivan completed his BSc in Biology and his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne (Australia). He then undertook postdoctoral fellowships in the laboratories of Dr. Barbara Beltz (Wellesley College, MA), Dr. Pierre Meyrand (CNRS, France), and Dr. Sharon Oleskevich (Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Australia).

Dr. Sullivan joined the laboratory of Professor Charlotte Sumner at Johns Hopkins University in early 2011, where he has been developing and studying both cellular and animal models of TRPV4-mediated hereditary neuromuscular disease. His current research is focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms via which mutant forms of TRPV4 precipitate neurodegeneration and on developing therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Wonjin Yun is a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on unraveling the pathogenic impact of macrophages on CMT1A using CMT1A patient iPSCs-derived organoids. Additionally, he explores the potential of hypoimmunogenic induced Schwann cells for future cell therapy applications.

He received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Korea University, South Korea. During his Ph.D. studies, he delved into understanding the mechanisms of demyelinating diseases and utilizing stem cells for translational research. Specifically, his work centered on generating oligodendrocytes from human pluripotent stem cells through differentiation and from human somatic cells via direct conversion. This research aimed to advance the study of multiple sclerosis by transplanting oligodendrocytes and modeling X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. In 2021, Dr. Yun joined Johns Hopkins University as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Gabsang Lee's laboratory. Since then, he has been dedicated to investigating neurological disorders such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and scleroderma.

Dr. Kathryn Moss is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Missouri and a researcher with the NextGen Precision Health initiative. Her work focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A (CMT1A) and Hereditary Neuropathy with Liability to Pressure Palsies (HNPP), two of the most common inherited peripheral neuropathies. Both disorders are linked to copy number variations in the Peripheral Myelin Protein 22 (PMP22) gene: a heterozygous duplication of the gene causes CMT1A, while a heterozygous deletion results in HNPP. Despite their prevalence, no disease-modifying treatments are currently available. Dr. Moss aims to uncover the pathophysiology and identify the molecular mechanisms driving these disorders, paving the way for the development of targeted therapies. Dr. Moss completed her postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Ahmet Höke at Johns Hopkins University, where she initiated research that now forms the foundation of her lab’s work. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Emory University. Her doctoral research, conducted under Dr. Gary Bassell, explored post-transcriptional mechanisms in neuronal development and neurological diseases.

Aysel Fisgin, Ph.D., received her BS degree in Chemical Engineering at Middle East Technical University, Turkey, in 1993. After 15 years of working as a professional in industry, then starting up and managing her own business, she started graduate school and got her MS degree in Medical Systems and Informatics from Bogazici University, Turkey. She pursued her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Bogazici University in Turkey till she moved to the US in 2013. She received a European Union Marie Curie Actions IRSES Project scholarship and carried out her Ph.D. thesis experiments in Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University. Her Ph.D. thesis research is on high throughput drug screening against CIPN (Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathies). She completed her post-doctoral research fellowship in Hoke Lab, Neurology, Johns Hopkins University and currently works as a research associate in Hoke Lab. She works on in-vitro and invivo peripheral neuropathy models of different chemotherapy drugs and transgenic mice that are resistant to the development of neuropathies caused by these chemotherapy agents. Her research focus is on understanding mechanisms of peripheral neuropathies and identifying therapeutic drugs that can be co- or pre-administered to cancer patients with chemotherapy agents before axonal degeneration start.