Focused Ultrasound for Gene and Cell Therapy Workshop Participants

Sunnybrook/University of Toronto
isabelle.aubert@utoronto.ca
Dr. Isabelle Aubert works as a senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and as a professor at the University of Toronto. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Brain Repair and Regeneration. Her research develops MRI-guided focused ultrasound strategies to modulate the blood–brain barrier, enabling regenerative processes and targeted delivery of therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. She also advances gene therapy approaches by combining recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors with focused ultrasound to promote brain repair and disease modification.

Jeffrey Bartlett, PhD

Rampart Bioscience
jbartlett@need4acure.com
Dr. Bartlett has dedicated his career to the development of gene-based therapies. He currently serves as the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Rampart Bioscience Inc., a company he co-founded to advance a novel non-viral DNA-based gene therapy platform. Prior to joining Rampart, he led Global Gene Therapy efforts at CSL Behring and served as Chief Scientific Officer at Calimmune, Inc., a California-based biotechnology company founded by the late David Baltimore. Before entering industry, he spent 20 years in academic medicine at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and at the University of North Carolina.

Alec Batts, PhD

University of Virginia/FUS Foundation
ajb2pj@virginia.edu
Dr. Alec Batts is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, specializing in therapeutic ultrasound, gene therapy, and neuroengineering. He earned his PhD from Columbia University under the guidance of Dr. Elisa Konofagou, where he developed ultrasound-guided focused ultrasound (USgFUS) systems for delivering AAV-based gene therapies across the blood-brain barrier to treat neurodegenerative diseases. His current research focuses on integrating FUS with next-generation non-viral gene and engineered cell therapies for brain tumors under the guidance of Dr. Richard Price and Dr. Natasha Sheybani. He also serves as a Gene Therapy Analyst with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation to aid in accelerating FUS-mediated gene therapy towards clinical trials.

Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD

Children’s National Hospital
cbollard@childrensnational.org
Dr. Bollard received her medical degree at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She is board certified both in pediatrics and hematology. In August 2013, she was recruited from Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine to Washington, DC, to join Children’s National Hospital and George Washington University. She is currently the Senior Vice President & Chief Research Officer and the Dr. Robert J. and Florence T. Bosworth Distinguished Professor of Cancer and Transplantation Biology Research and the Director of the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research. She is a Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University and the Associate Center Director for Translational Research and Innovation at the GW Cancer Center. Dr. Bollard is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). She is a past president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), and the current President of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Dr Bollard is currently Editor in Chief of Blood Advances. She has >250 peer reviewed publications and has been independently NIH funded for over 15 years. Her bench and translational research focuses on improving outcomes for patients after transplant and on the development of novel cell therapies for cancer and virus-associated diseases.

Michael Canney

Carthera
michael.canney@carthera.eu
Michael Canney is the Chief Scientific Officer at Carthera.

Esteban Engel

Roche Innovation Center Philadelphia
esteban.engel@roche.com
Esteban Engel is a neuro-virologist with expertise in viral vector development, neuroscience and gene therapy. As Director of Neuroscience Platforms at the Roche Innovation Center Philadelphia (RICP, former Spark Therapeutics), Esteban leads a team that works on improving the efficacy and safety of gene therapies in the neuroscience therapeutic area. This includes engineering viral capsids, optimizing vector payload design, identifying the best delivery route of administration and dosing regime. Prior to joining RICP in 2021, Esteban was an Investigator at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, where he developed bespoke neurotropic viral vectors to explore brain connectivity and function.

Mark Esser, PhD

UVA Manning Institute of Biotechnology
mark.esser@virginia.edu
Dr. Esser joined the University of Virginia in May of 2025 as the inaugural Chief Scientific Officer and Head of the UVA Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology and Thomas A. Saunders II Family Jefferson Scholars professor. Mark is responsible for the overall strategic direction and operations of the Manning Institute bringing early science from concept to the clinic.

Camilo Fadul, MD

University of Virginia
cef3w@uvahealth.org
Camilo E. Fadul, MD, is a neuro-oncologist whose interests include developing innovative treatments for primary brain tumors and improving care for patients experiencing neurological complications due to systemic cancer. He was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where he earned his medical degree from the School of Medicine of Universidad del Rosario. He completed his rotatory internship at Hospital Militar Central, followed by a one-year social service tour in rural Colombia. He then completed his neurology residency at the Hospital Militar Central and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, followed by a neuropathology and neuro-oncology fellowship at Vanderbilt University and a neuro-oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Before joining UVA Health, he spent more than 20 years as the director of the neuro-oncology program at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at the Dartmouth Cancer Center.

Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI

Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medciine
paul.fisher@vcuhealth.org
Dr. Paul B. Fisher, Director, VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), VCU, SOM, Richmond, VA. Authored 650 papers/reviews, top NIH/NCI funded investigator, 60 issued US and international patents. Pioneered novel gene discoveries, created innovative therapies and produced small molecule metastasis inhibitors. Founded multiple biotech start-up companies, Virginia Outstanding Scientist (2014), and elected to the National Academy of Inventors (2018). A successful seasoned entrepreneur: founded GenQuest Incorporated, a functional genomics company, merged with Corixa Corporation (1998), traded on NASDAQ and acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (2006). Co-founded (2017/2018) InVaMet Therapeutics (IVMT), targeted metastasis inhibitors, and InterLeukin Combinatorial Therapies (ILCT), therapeutic interleukins/cytokines from bench-to-bedside.

Michal Fortuna, PhD

Allen Institute
michal.fortuna@alleninstitute.org
Michal Fortuna, PhD, is the NHP Biodistribution Lead in the Gene Therapy team at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. He earned his doctorate in Pharmacology at the University of Virginia, studying respiratory physiology and autonomic control. As an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the University Medicine Göttingen, he advanced research in neurophysiology and respiration. He later joined the German Primate Center, contributing to projects on sensorimotor transformations and optogenetics in NHPs. At the Allen Institute, his work focuses on developing and evaluating therapeutic AAVs for epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Robert Friedlander, MD

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
deriggiba2@upmc.edu
Robert Friedlander is Chairman and Walter E. Dandy Distinguished Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. Prior to joining the department, Dr. Friedlander was Professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. He completed his BA/MA at Brandeis University, medical school at Harvard and residency at MGH. As a sign of his prominence as a clinician and scientist, Dr. Friedlander is one of a very select group of authors to have been invited by the NEJM to write a basic science review (mechanisms of neuronal cell death), and a clinical review (management of AVMs). His work has also been recognized through many academic awards, including the International Charcot Prize for Motor Neuron Diseases and the H. Richard Winn Prize. Dr Friedlander served as a member of the NINDS Council. He is an elected as a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Issabelle Fung, PhD

NaviFUS Corp.
stfung@navifus.com
Issabelle Fung, PhD, is the Manager of the Clinical Research Department from NaviFUS Corp. with over 3 years of experience in focused ultrasound (FUS) clinical trials. She is responsible for overseeing clinical studies in Taiwan, Australia, and the US, with a focus on drug-resistant epilepsy neuromodulation and blood-brain barrier opening (BBBo) using therapeutic agents for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Dr. I am major in managing multicenter trial operations and coordinating cross-functional teams to advance the development of FUS-based therapies.

Lena Gamboa, PhD

Georgia Tech
mgc30@gatech.edu
Dr. Lena Gamboa is a Senior Research Scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She earned her Sc.B. from Brown University and her Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, both in biomedical engineering. She is a co-inventor of the thermal bioswitch technology that underpins Port Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering spatiotemporal therapeutics, where she served as Head of Cancer Immunotherapy. In 2025, she returned to Georgia Tech as research faculty, where she is advancing programmable immunotherapies at the interface of synthetic biology and medicine, with a focus on applications in cancer.

Heather Gorby, PhD

Gorby Consulting, LLC
heather@gorbyconsulting.com
Dr. Gorby received her PhD from Stony Brook University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health (NIH/NIMH), before pursuing medical writing full-time. Heather has worked as a full-time freelance writer since 2013. She has written a variety of documents, including clinical trial manuscripts, literature reviews, continuing medical education, meeting summaries, and white papers. Heather has worked with the FUS Foundation on numerous meeting reports since 2016.

Yutong Guo, PhD

Stanford University
yutongg@stanford.edu
Dr. Yutong Guo is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. Her research is focused on ultrasound-actuated microbubble dynamics and the induced immuno-mechano-biological effects, with the overarching goal of developing effective targeted cell and gene therapy against brain diseases.

Dalia Haydar, PharmD, PhD

Children’s Research Hospital
dhaydar@childrensnational.org
Dalia Haydar, PharmD, PhD, is Research Faculty in the Cell Enhancement and Technologies for Immunotherapy (CETI) Program at Children’s National Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The George Washington University, where she also serves as Graduate Program Director of the Cancer Biology Track within the Integrated Biomedical Sciences PhD Program. Her research focuses on engineering next-generation CAR T cells and harnessing Magnetic Resonance–guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) to improve delivery, potency, and safety of cellular immunotherapies for pediatric brain tumors. By combining cutting-edge engineering with advanced preclinical models, Dr. Haydar aims to develop transformative therapies for children with high-risk brain cancers.

Tycho Hoogland, PhD

uniQure biopharma B.V.
t.hoogland@uniqure.com
Tycho Hoogland, PhD, is Associate Director, Global Research at uniQure, where he leads in vivo studies supporting early-stage preclinical programs. His team plays a key role in screening vectors, testing gene therapy delivery methods, and assessing efficacy in disease models. Prior to joining uniQure, Tycho directed research on sensorimotor integration using electrophysiology, optogenetics and multi-photon microscopy, and led the development of miniaturized microscopes for neural recording in freely behaving animals.

Jennifer Johnston, PhD

NysnoBio
jj@nysnobiogtx.com
Dr. Johnston has been working in drug development for Parkinson’s Disease foe the last 25 years.

Michael Kaplitt, MD, PhD

Weill Cornell Medicine
mik2002@med.cornell.edu
Dr. Kaplitt is Professor, Executive Vice-Chairman and Vice-Chairman for Research in Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. He received a Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology from The Rockefeller University and M.D. from Cornell Medical College. He reported the first use of AAV for gene delivery to the rodent brain in 1994 and in 2003 he performed the first human gene therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. He was also an early adopter of focused ultrasound for patients with neurological disease and has led several recent trials. His laboratory explores gene therapy to understand and treat animal models of neurological disease and focused ultrasound gene delivery in rodents and primates.

Elisa Konofagou, PhD

Columbia University
ek2191@columbia.edu
Elisa Konofagou is the Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professors Radiology and Neurosurgery as well as Director of the Ultrasound and Elasticity Imaging Laboratory at Columbia University in New York City. Her main interests are in the development of novel imaging, theranostic and therapeutic ultrasound methods for the advancement of therapeutic ultrasound. Elisa has co-authored over 320 published articles in the aforementioned fields. Elisa is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (US), an Elected Fellow of the International Society of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (AIMBE) and the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Elisa is recipient of the CAREER award by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Nagy award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Technological Achievement Award by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology society (EMBS), the Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Award by the IEEE Society in Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control (UFFC), the Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award and Faculty Service Award by Columbia university and the Elisabeth Papazoglou Inspired Leadership Award by Drexel university as well as additional recognitions by the American Heart Association, the Acoustical Society of America, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the Wallace H. Coulter foundation, the Bodossaki foundation, the Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Elisa also serves as the current President of the International Society of Therapeutic Ultrasound.

Michael Lehmicke

Alliance for Regenerative Medicine
mlehmicke@alliancerm.org
Michael joined ARM in 2019 as its first Director of Science and Industry Affairs. Michael has over 20 years of R&D experience in biomaterials, medical devices and regenerative medicine. He has led product development teams for class II devices, human cell and tissue-based products, and drug/device combination products. He is a creator and an inventor with multiple U.S. patents to his name. Michael has a MSc in /Biomedical Engineering, with a focus on tissue engineering, from Drexel University. Michaels areas of expertise include cell-based tissue engineering, bioceramics, biodegradable polymers, project management, strategic pipeline development, and business development. He is passionate about regenerative medicine and believes that it represents our best hope for meeting many unmet clinical needs, thereby changing patient’s lives for the better.

Martin Lévesque

Laval University
martin.levesque@cervo.ulaval.ca
Martin Lévesque is Professor at Laval University and PI at the CERVO Brain Research Centre. His laboratory develops gene and cell therapies for PD, and he is an expert in dopamine neuron development and function. Using human brain organoids, mouse, and nonhuman primate models, his team defines mechanisms and tests strategies in rigorous preclinical studies. Their translational research turns basic discoveries into targeted diagnostics and therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.

Jonathan Lindner, MD

University of Virginia
jlindner@virginia.edu
Dr. Lindner is currently the Frances Myers Ball Endowed Professor of Medicine and serves as the Vice-chief for Research for the Cardiovascular Division at the University of Virginia. Dr. Lindner is a physician-scientist with expertise in advanced cardiovascular imaging, vascular biology, and microvascular physiology. He is currently the principal investigator on multiple R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health, and grants from NASA. His research laboratory has pioneered the use of advanced ultrasound methods for microvascular functional assessment, non-invasive molecular imaging, and for site-directed therapy.

Katy McCabe, PhD

Insightec
katy@mccabebusinessgroup.com
For the last 20 years, Katy has combined her business acumen, scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit to help transform novel modalities into medicines at both large pharma and biotech companies. Katy advises Insightec in the scientific and business applications of the Exablate low frequency focused ultrasound system for the use of therapeutics, including genetic medicines, in the treatment neurodegeneration and neuro-oncological applications. Katy received her PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior from the University of Washington and completed her postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology.

Carol Miao, PhD

Seattle Children’s Resarch Institute
carol.miao@seattlechildrens.org
Carol H. Miao, PhD, is a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and a professor at U of Washington. Dr. Miao’s research focuses on the development of better treatment for hemophilia patients and gene therapy strategies for treating genetic diseases. Major research programs include: development of safe and efficient gene therapy approaches including nonviral gene delivery via ultrasound-mediated gene delivery (UMGD), lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), and virus like particles (VLPs); gene editing technology; direct bone marrow transduction using lentiviral vectors; and development of immunomodulation strategies for treating inhibitory antibodies. Dr. Miao has been awarded funding support by NIH and others.

Chrit Moonen, PhD

Focused Ultrasound Foundation
cmoonen@fusfoundation.org
Following his studies in biophysics at Wageningen University, Chrit Moonen did a postdoctoral period at the University of Oxford (Sir Georg Radda). He joined UC Davis as a Visiting Research Scientist before becoming head of the NIH In Vivo NMR Research Center from 1987-1996. He was director of the laboratory “Molecular and Functional Imaging: from Physiology to Therapy” in Bordeaux, France, until 2011. He was full professor at the Division of Imaging at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands from 2011-2022. He then joined the FUSF as Scientific Programs Director.

Kazim Narsinh, MD

University of California San Francisco
kazim.narsinh@ucsf.edu
Dr. Kazim Narsinh is an assistant professor of radiology and neurosurgery at the University of California San Francisco. As a neurointerventional radiologist, Dr. Narsinh performs minimally invasive procedures to treat blood vessels and tumors in the brain, head, neck, and spine using imaging guidance. Dr. Narsinh’s research interests focus on early-stage clinical trials of transcranial focused ultrasound and image-guided therapeutic delivery to the central nervous system, including methods to disrupt the blood-brain barrier. At UCSF, he serves as a lead physician for interventional neuro-oncology in the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Focused Ultrasound in Neuroscience program. At the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgeons, Dr. Narsinh chairs the interventional neuro-oncology working group.

Joanne Nash, PhD

University of Toronto
joanne.nash@utoronto.ca
Dr. Nash’s research aims to reduce the burden of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Her lab studies how key neuronal proteins regulate brain function and homeostasis in healthy systems and disease models. Using advanced behavioural, imaging, electrophysiological, and genetic engineering techniques, they dissect molecular processes underlying neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and cellular metabolism. Dr. Nash’s dual goals are to uncover mechanisms of brain function and improve treatment outcomes for individuals affected by neurodegeneration.

Laura Owlett, MD, PhD

University of Rochester
laura_owlett@urmc.rochester.edu
Laura Owlett, MD, PhD is a PGY-4 child neurology resident at the University of Rochester, where she also completed her medical and graduate training in neuroscience. Her thesis work used AAV to alter immunologic networks in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Her interests now lie in therapeutics for rare childhood neurologic conditions, and she plans to complete a neurogenetics/neurotherapeutics fellowship after completion of her residency.

Roger Packer, MD

Children’s National Hospital
rpacker@childrensnational.org
Dr. Roger J. Packer is the Gilbert Distinguished Professor of Neurofibromatosis, and Director and Chief of both the Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Institute and the Brain Tumor Institute of Children’s National Hospital (CNH), Washington, DC. Throughout his career, Dr. Packer has been heavily involved in clinical and applied basic science research focusing on the treatment of children with brain tumors and those with NF1; developing and leading clinical/translational trials, including those using low-intensity focused ultrasound, molecular therapy and cellular therapy. Presently, Dr. Packer is Chair of the PBTC Low-Grade Glioma Committee; Co-Investigator (CNH) of the Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials Consortium; Chair of the Medulloblastoma Committee of the Children’s Oncology Group; and Chair of the Medulloblastoma Initiative. He has published over 480 original articles and 400 reviews and chapters.

Frederic Padilla, PhD

Focused Ultrasound Foundation
fpadilla@fusfoundation.org
Frederic Padilla, PhD, is the Director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Program at the FUS Foundation. He joined the FUS Foundation in 2017 as a Merkin Fellow. Simultaneously, Frederic oversees the Foundation’s initiatives in applied physics and preclinical research, with a specific focus on advancing the potential of focused ultrasound to enhance immunotherapies for breast and pancreatic cancers. Before joining the Foundation, Frederic served as an Associate Professor at the French CNRS. He holds a Doctorate in Applied Physics from the University of Paris and an engineering degree from Centrale-Supelec. Frederic’s academic background includes a Fulbright Fellowship at Boston University and a Visiting Professorship at the University of Michigan.

Ramasamy Paulmurugan, PhD

Stanford University
paulmur8@stanford.edu
Dr. Ramasamy Paulmurugan is a Professor in Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He earned his Masters in Biomedical Genetics and PhD in Molecular Virology from the University of Madras, India. After serving as a scientist for four years in Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, Trivandrum, India, he joined the School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a visiting scientist in 2001. In 2003, he moved to Stanford as a Senior Research Scientist. Since 2009, he has been a faculty in the Department of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine under the Molecular Imaging Program (MIPS) and Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection. He is a pioneer in developing split-reporter protein complementation systems for different reporter genes (luciferases, fluorescent proteins, and thymidine kinase), and has been using them for imaging cellular protein-protein interactions in living animals. Currently, his lab (Cellular Pathway Imaging Laboratory (CPIL)) is working on the application of different imaging strategies to evaluate the therapeutic role of ERalpha, another important estrogen receptor, which has recently been identified as one of the major players in estrogen receptor biology. Other applications where his lab currently applying these assays include studying protein-protein interactions involved in estrogen receptor signaling, Nrf2-mediated antioxidant signaling in chemoresistance, p53-sumoylation mediated chemotherapy responses in cancer, NFkB mediated cytokine signaling in cancer, and signaling mechanisms associated with APP and Tau protein sumoylations in Alzheimer’s disease. In cancer therapy, his lab established microRNA-based reprogramming approaches to eliminate drug-resistance in cancers. In synthetic biology, his lab recently invented the application of a high-pressure microfluidic system in the reconstruction of biomolecules derived from cells (proteins and lipids) along with synthetic sources (phospholipids, polymers, and surfactants) to develop self-assembled nano- and micro-structures that mimic biological membranes for drug and microRNA delivery applications. As part of this process, his group developed biomimetic microbubbles (biMBs) and nanobubbles (biNBs) using tumor cell derived exosomes (TDEs) for cancer immunotherapy and imaging.

Richard Price, PhD

University of Virginia
rprice@virginia.edu
Richard J. Price, PhD, is the Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Radiology & Medical Imaging at the University of Virginia (UVa). He is also Co-Director of the UVa Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center and Co-Leader of the UVa Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Therapeutics (CRX) Program. Dr. Price has received the Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Award for Focused Ultrasound Cancer Research. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Controlled Release Society. He has served on the Executive Council of the Microcirculatory Society and the ISTU Board of Directors.

Elizabeth Proctor, PhD

University of Virginia
eproctor@virginia.edu
Elizabeth Proctor is an Associate Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, where she integrates experimental and computational methods to define the complex molecular, cellular, and systems-level mechanisms driving Alzheimer’s disease risk, onset, and progression. The ultimate goal of her work is to create a time-delineated map of these integrated multi-scale networks of pathology and use it to identify safe and effective strategies for precision preventative medicine and therapeutics. Prior to her time at UVA, Elizabeth was an Associate Professor at Penn State University, where she worked to bridge the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering as an Associate Director of the Center for Neural Engineering. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT, where she used multiplexing and OMICS assays combined with multivariate modeling and machine learning to map cellular communication and signaling networks implicated in disease. Elizabeth completed her PhD in Computational Biophysics at UNC Chapel Hill, where she developed methodology for molecular modeling and protein engineering to control molecular structure, dynamics, and function in disease-relevant systems. Elizabeth holds Honors bachelor diplomas from Purdue University in Physics and Russian Language and Literature.

Bryan Pukenas, MD

University of Pennsylvania
bryan.pukenas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Bryan Pukenas is an Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania where he is the Neurointerventional Endovascular Fellowship Director and Quality and Safety Officer. With collaboration, he modernized the suboccipital puncture procedure for neurodegenerative gene therapy administration in adult and pediatric populations. This includes the development of a standardized program that has trained 50+ physicians from over 40 international sites on 5 continents.

Alexander Ramos MD, PhD

Columbia University Irving Medical Center
ar4680@cumc.columbia.edu
Dr. Ramos is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery with sub-specialization in interventional neuro-radiology. His clinical practice focuses on endovascular treatment of stroke and aneurysms as well as novel endovascular approaches to brain tumors. His research interests include intra-arterial delivery of chemotherapy and combining intra-arterial infusions with focused ultrasound-mediated blood brain barrier disruption for delivery of large molecules, gene therapy, and cell-based therapies.

David Schaeffer, PhD

University of Pittsburgh
dschaeff@pitt.edu
Dr. Schaeffer is an Assistant Professor in Neurobiology and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. His lab is developing the use of transcranial focused ultrasound for noninvasive delivery of neurotropics in marmoset monkeys, a small New World primate. As experts in fully awake high field functional MRI and positron emission tomography in marmosets, the lab is working to develop noninvasive chemogenetic techniques to modulate brain activity and concomitant behavior. By leveraging the evolutionary proximity of marmoset neuronal architecture, Dr. Schaeffer seeks to develop these techniques to ameliorate pathological sequela of human neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.

Natasha Sheybani, PhD

University of Virginia
nds3sa@virginia.edu
Dr. Natasha Sheybani is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia and Research Director of UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center. She directs a multidisciplinary, translational research program leveraging focused ultrasound and image-guided theranostics to develop precision immunotherapy, cell therapy, and gene therapy strategies for cancer treatment. Her work closely integrates with multiple clinical investigations of focused ultrasound in oncology at UVA. Dr. Sheybani earned her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering (with Honors) from Virginia Commonwealth University, her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from UVA, and completed postdoctoral training in Oncology, Biomedical Data Science, and Radiology at Stanford University. She has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the NCI F99/K00 Predoctoral-to-Postdoctoral Transition Award, the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, and the DoD Breast Cancer Research Program Era of Hope Scholar Award. Her research and leadership have garnered international recognition, including selection to STAT News’ “Wunderkinds” and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Science. She currently serves as Treasurer of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound, Co-Chair of the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research Council of Early Career Investigators in Imaging, and as a scientific advisor to the National Brain Tumor Society.

Hasan Slika, MD

Johns Hopkins University and Medicine
hslika1@jh.edu
Dr. Hasan Slika is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Hunterian Neurosurgical Laboratory at the Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University. I have completed my Medical Doctorate at the American University of Beirut in June 2023. My current research focuses on developing preclinical models for brain tumors, investigating novel targeted therapies and gene therapies for brain cancer, and testing technologies that can enhance the delivery of drugs to the central nervous system, such as local delivery systems, nanotechnology, and focused ultrasound. I am currently pursuing these research interests under the mentorship of Prof. Henry Brem and Prof. Betty Tyler.

Bob Smith, MBA

FUS Foundation and OrbiMed
bsmith@fusfoundation.org
Bob Smith joined the Foundation in early 2024. He has over thirty-five years of experience in alliance management, business development, commercial, mergers and acquisitions, and research and development roles. Bob also joined OrbiMed as a Venture Partner in 2024. He retired from Pfizer in January 2024 where he led Pfizer’s end-to-end global gene therapy business. In his other roles at Pfizer, he led the global business development activities for the R&D organization as well as the strategic transactions team. Bob also oversaw the business development and strategy teams for the Animal Health, Capsugel, Consumer Healthcare, and Nutrition divisions. He joined Pfizer in October 2009 after its acquisition of Wyeth, where he led the global mergers and acquisitions group. Bob is a member of the board of directors of various biotechnology companies and healthcare organizations including serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. He obtained a B.S. in Neuroscience and an M.B.A. in Finance and Corporate Accounting from the University of Rochester.

Jared Smith, PhD

REGENXBIO, Inc.
jsmith01@regenxbio.com
Jared Smith obtained a PhD in neuroscience from the Penn State College of Medicine and completed postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute applying AAVs in rodents and primates to study the CNS. He is currently a Principal Scientist at REGENXBIO, where he develops AAV gene therapies, and has collaborated on FUS mediated delivery of AAV to the CNS in primates.

Nick Todd, PhD

Brigham and Women’s Hospital
ntodd1@bwh.harvard.edu
Dr. Todd’s research at the Focused Ultrasound Laboratory in Brigham and Women’s Hospital combines applications of FUS with structural and functional neuroimaging. His primary interest is using FUS for non-invasive and targeted delivery of therapies into the brain with MRI to plan, guide, and evaluate the interventions.

Fotios Tsitsos

Columbia University
ft2561@columbia.edu
Fotios Tsitsos is a graduate student at Columbia University working with Prof. Elisa Konofagou on Focused Ultrasound-mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Opening for gene delivery to the brain. He has worked on multiple projects using and developing ultrasound methods for non-invasive viral vector gene delivery in mice and non-human primates.

Chaotan Wang

NaviFUS Corp.
ctwang@navifus.com
Chaotan Wang is a Director of Regulatory Affairs with 11 years of medical device industry experience and 4 years at the TFDA authority. Specialized in GCP, innvoative devices and consultation processes. She works closely with clinical, medical, and regulatory teams to support trials and foster innovation. By engaging with healthcare professionals and thought leaders, Chaotan promotes collaboration, informed decision-making, and the development of safe, effective medical technologies.

Michael Werner

Holland & Knight
michael.werner@hklaw.com
Michael Werner is a Washington, D.C., public policy and regulatory attorney and a co-leader of Holland & Knight’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Team. He also is a co-leader of the Public Policy & Regulation Group’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Policy Team. Mr. Werner has almost three decades of healthcare law, lobbying, regulatory and reimbursement experience in Washington. He is an internationally regarded thought leader in the regulation and reimbursement of cell therapy, gene therapy, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine products. In that capacity, he has assisted numerous companies and product developers navigating these issues and is the principal architect of the Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy expedited approval pathway at the FDA. He also has experience in human subject protection issues such as institutional review board (IRB) review and informed consent, as well as conflicts of interest and other bioethics issues arising from research and uses of new technologies. Mr. Werner is the co-founder and senior policy counsel of the Alliance
for Regenerative Medicine.

Emily Whipple, PhD, MBA

Focused Ultrasound Foundation
ewhipple@fusfoundation.org
At the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, Emily C. Whipple, PhD, MBA, leads the organization’s Cancer Immunotherapy Program and, as Director of Strategic Initiatives, drives high–impact external partnerships and internal efforts to accelerate the translation of focused ultrasound technologies into clinical and therapeutic use. She builds disease‐specific collaborations, identifies and stewards co-funding opportunities, oversees strategic convenings, and supports the full lifecycle of the Foundation’s research-funding pipeline, with special oversight of the cancer immunotherapy portfolio at the University of Virginia. Previously, Dr. Whipple held leadership and scientific roles in academia, research administration, and health technology. At OpenQ, she supported the development of software solutions designed to help life science companies identify and engage key opinion leaders and manage compliance. Dr. Whipple earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at UVA. She completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, combining a strong foundation in science with business and strategic training to advance the translation of medical innovations.