Supporting a Dedicated Team
Our extraordinary team of investigators is further strengthened by close collaboration between scientists and clinicians, accelerating the path from the lab bench to patient care. Together, these partnerships expand our understanding of BPAN and open new possibilities across the full neurodegenerative spectrum.
Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy Tashia and John Morgridge Endowed Faculty Scholar in Pediatric Translational Science
Dr. Knowles is a physician-scientist who provides clinical care for children with epilepsy and leads a lab team conducting basic, translational, and clinical research on pediatric epilepsy, neurodevelopmental disorders, and pediatric-onset neurodegenerative disorders including BPAN. Dr. Knowles will organize and lead the teamʼs BPAN research as the principal investigator.
Frank Longo, MD, PhD
George E. and Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine
Dr. Longo served as the chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences from 2006 to 2023. His basic and translational research lab continues to lead groundbreaking work to develop novel therapeutics for Alzheimerʼs disease and other neurodegenerative diseases with relevance to BPAN. Dr. Longo will serve as an adviser and collaborator on the project, particularly related to high-throughput drug screening and therapeutic development.
Tony Wyss-Coray, PhD
D.H. Chen Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Dr. Wyss-Corayʼs lab pioneered the discovery of proteomic profiles for aging and neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimerʼs disease. He is director of the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience. Dr. Wyss-Coray will play a leading role in developing a proteomics biomarker for BPAN.
Rebecca Levy, MD, PhD
Instructor of Neurology
Dr. Levy is a key member of the lab of Sergiu Pasca, MD. Her research includes use of three-dimensional, human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural organoids to model early neurodevelopment. As director of the Pediatric Neurogenomics Clinic, she also diagnoses and cares for children with rare neurogenetic disorders. As an expert adviser, she will oversee the use of stem cells derived from children affected by BPAN to study disease mechanisms and potential therapeutics.
Jonathan Long, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology
The long-term goal of Dr. Longʼs laboratory is to discover new molecules and pathways that can be translated into therapeutic opportunities for obesity, metabolic disease, and other age-associated chronic diseases. Dr. Long’s work has on these topics has been published in top journals such as Nature and Cell. He will play a leading role in identifying metabolomic signatures in BPAN mice.
Contact Us
We invite government agencies, research institutions, and potential partners to join us in this urgent endeavor.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (904) 822-5089
Address: 5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 25, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082