Todd J. Cohen, PhD
Dr. Cohen seeks to identify the pathogenic mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease through his research.
Associate Professor - Neuroscience Research
Principal Investigators
Neurology Research Division
Rick B. Meeker, PhD
Dr. Meeker’s research is focused on the mechanisms of HIV neuropathogenesis and the development of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of neuroinflammation. Inflammatory changes within the brain caused by the viral infection initiate a toxic cascade that disrupts normal neural function and can eventually lead to neuronal death. To explore the mechanisms responsible for this damage, we investigate changes in calcium homeostasis, glutamate receptor function and inflammatory responses in primary neuronal, microglial and macrophage cultures. New therapeutic approaches targeted to signal transduction pathways and calcium regulation that protect the neurons and reduce inflammation are under investigation.
Professor of Neurology - Neuroscience Research
Yen-Yu Ian Shih, PhD
The Center for Animal MRI (CAMRI) focuses on combining multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with cutting edge neuroscience tools to study neural circuitry and neurovascular coupling in rodent models. Their service core under the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center provides a wide variety of small animal MRI services to investigators within and outside UNC.
Professor of Neurology - Neuroscience Research
Neurology Alzheimers Research
Gwenn A. Garden, MD, PhD
Dr. Garden’s Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research includes studies of the regulation of the inflammatory response in AD, as well as pathogenic molecular cascades contributing to neuronal degeneration in AD. She aims to collaborate with other researchers in order to translate her laboratory findings into the setting of research using human tissues, human stem cells, human serum and CSF samples, and potentially human patients.
H. Houston Merritt Distinguished Professor - Memory and Cognitive Disorders
Lab Manager Email: matthew_sadgrove@med.unc.edu
General Neurology Research
Jorge L. Almodóvar-Suárez, MD
Dr. Almodóvar-Suárez is works in General Neurology, Motor Neuron Diseases, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Ethics. Other Research and/or Clinical interests include: Ethics, Bioethics
Associate Professor
Epilepsy Research
Varina L. Boerwinkle, MD
Resting-state fMRI in epilepsy for localization of seizure onset zones for epilepsy surgery evaluation, which correlates with intracranial EEG and seizure outcomes. Also resting state fMRI in coma to detect covert consciousness and predict outcome.
Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics
Lynn Liu, MD
Dr. Liu's research interests are within Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology including EEG, EP, IONM, PSG, and Epilepsy. She has a specified interest in education.
Professor - Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology
Clio Rubinos, MD, MS
Dr. Rubinos is a neurologist with dual training in Epilepsy and Neurocritical care. Dr. Rubinos research interest is ICU-EEG, status epilepticus, and epileptogenic after brain injury (biomarkers, management, and patient-related outcomes), bridging both specialties. However, she has a passion for global health, and I am working in global health neurology (ICU-EEG and Neurocritical care).
Assistant Professor - Neurocritical Care and Epilepsy
Brandon Waters, MD
Dr. Water's clinical interests include refractory epilepsy management, including complex pharmacotherapy and epilepsy surgery, neuromodulation, pre-surgical evaluations for epilepsy surgery, neuropsychiatric comorbidities in epilepsy and intraoperative neuromonitoring. His research interests are pathologic neuronal networks in epilepsy, psychiatric & neuropsychological comorbidities in epilepsy, outcomes in epilepsy surgery, including neuropsychological, and epileptogenesis.
Assistant Professor - Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology
Neurology Movement Research
Nina Browner, MD
Dr. Browner has extensive training in movement disorders which she uses as Director of the Movement Disorders Clinic at UNC (MDC UNC). Dr. Browner and colleagues utilize wide clinical services for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other movement disorders. Through her clinical research career, she successfully collaborated with other researchers, and produced several peer-reviewed publications from each project.
The Bryson Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Movement Disorders
Neurology Multiple Sclerosis Research
Monica Maria Diaz, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Diaz's clinical interests include Multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, neuromyelitis optica, neurosarcoidosis, viral or antibody-mediated encephalitis, HIV-related neurological complications, neurocysticercosis, post-COVID-19 neurological complications.
Assistant Professor - Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Irena Dujmovic Basuroski, MD, PhD
Dr. Dujmovic Basuroski's clinical interests include multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), myelin oligodendrocyte antibody associated disease (MOGAD), transverse myelitis (TM), optic neuritis, neurosarcoidosis, autoimmune encephalitis, neurological complications of systemic connective tissue diseases, and other immune-mediated diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).
Associate Professor of Neurology - Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Neurocritical Care Research
Julia M. Carlson, MD
Dr. Julia Carlson’s research interests include recovery and quality of life post severe acute brain injury and critical care hospitalizations. She has focused on withdrawal of life sustaining therapies previously.
Assistant Professor – Neurocritical Care
David Y. Hwang, MD, FAAN, FCCM, FNCS
Dr. Hwang has developed a nationally recognized, original clinical research portfolio centered upon two major neuroscience ICU themes: (1) the varying accuracy and thought processes of clinicians when predicting functional outcomes of patients with severe acute brain injury (SABI); and (2) the decision-making and psychosocial support of family members of SABI patients who lack capacity, particularly those families who are making difficult goals-of-care decisions.
Associate Faculty, Center for Bioethics
Professor – Neurocritical Care
Neurogenetics Research
Zheng (Jane) Fan, MD
Dr. Fan is a child Neurologist who has additional training in sleep and clinical genetics. Dr. Fan's research interests are in pediatric sleep disorder and neurogenetic disorders.
Professor of Neurology - Child Neurology, Pediatric Sleep Medicine, Pediatric Neuromuscular Disorders, Clinical Genetics
Claudia M. Testa, MD, PhD
Clinical and translational research in movement disorders with a special interest in genetically based therapeutics, and neurogenetic neurodegenerative disorders.
Professor of Neurology - Movement disorders, Adult Neurogenetics
Neuromuscular Research
James F. Howard Jr., MD
Dr. Howard's focus is in disorders of neuromuscular transmission including diagnosis, management and their immune abnormalities with the goal of bringing novel therapeutic agents to the bedside. Dr. Howard has been involved in the clinical trials development of complement and FcRn inhibitors in the treatment of autoimmune myasthenia gravis leading to the first 3 drugs ever approved by the FDA for this disease. He maintain extensive clinical and physiological data on nearly 1450 patients with myasthenia gravis.
Professor of Neurology, Medicine & Allied Health
Rebecca Traub, MD
Dr. Traub's research interests are; Inherited neuropathies, Charcot marie tooth disease, Amyloid neuropathy, Inflammatory neuropathies, and Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).
Associate Professor - Neuromuscular Disorders, General Neurology
Neuropsychiatry Research
Amy Abramowitz, MD
Dr. Abramowitz is a geriatric psychiatrist specializing in older adults with mental health concerns and dementia.
Assistant Professor
Neuropsychology Research
Pediatric Neurology Research
Jamie K. Capal, MD
Dr. Capal is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of North Carolina with a joint appointment in the Department of Neurology appointment and the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD). Dr. Capal is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the CIDD Clinical Trials Program.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Chon Lee, MD
Dr. Lee's research interest is within pediatric epilepsy industry sponsored drug trials.
Associate Professor - Child Neurology and Epilepsy
Neuroradiology Research
Weili Lin, PhD
Dr. Lin's research interests focus on several areas, including the development of novel imaging methods for the study of early brain development, neurodegenerative diseases, and neurological disorders, the development and applications of deep-learning approaches for obtaining quantitative measures of brain structures as well as to accelerate imaging acquisition time, and the applications of PET/MR approaches in cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, Dr. Lin has extensive knowledge of conducting non-sedated pediatric imaging for children 0 – 10 years old.
Dixie Lee Boney Soo Distinguished Professor, Neurological Medicine
Director - Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC)
Neurology Stroke Research
James Pham Ho, MD
Dr. Ho has interests in Neurointerventional Research, Stroke, Cerebrovascular Diseases, Aneurysms, Vascular Malformations, Cerebrovascular Health Research.
Assistant Professor - Stroke and Vascular Neurology
David Y. Huang, MD, PhD
Dr. Huang clinical interests are hospitalist neurology, stroke, acute stroke treatments, neurocritical care. His clinical research interests are acute stroke interventions and treatments, cellular mechanisms of neuroprotection, intracerebral hemorrhage. His basic research interests are the pathophysiology of stroke and cellular mechanisms of neuroprotection.
Clinical Professor, UNC Department of Neurology