Dr. Christopher Gomez (Principal Investigator)
As a physician and scientist, I have dedicated my career to the understanding and treatment of ataxia, both in the clinic and in the laboratory.
In the clinic, in addition to treating symptoms and helping patients cope and adapt to their ataxia, I have been working to learn the best ways to measure the severity of the balance and coordination problems experienced by patients with ataxia. This is very important because it will allow us to more easily test whether any newly developed drugs help symptoms or slow progression of ataxia. If successful we expect that we will entice more pharmaceutical companies to enter the field of ataxia therapy, and thus speed the development of new drugs.
In the lab our goal is to discover how mutations in ataxia genes cause SCA6 or other forms of ataxia, and to develop ways to block the effects of the gene mutations that cause SCA6. We have discovered a new protein, α1ACT, hidden in the SCA6 gene sequence that we believe is the cause of SCA6. We have decoded how this protein is turned on and are developing ways to safely turn it off, first in animal models and eventually in patients.
Dr. Xiaofei Du (Research Associate Professor)
I received my basic biology and medical training in China and came to Chicago to further to pursue my interest in genetically inheritable diseases.
Eshaan Rao (PhD Student)
I am originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I attended the University of Minnesota and earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and Chemistry. I am interested in neurological diseases and developing genetic-based therapies to try and combat such diseases. I have studied chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease, medulloblastoma, and hyperoxia in the past, and currently focus on a calcium channel implicated in certain types of spinocerebellar ataxia. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball, playing the violin, and cultivating mass.
Cenfu Wei (Senior Research Technician)
I did my BS degree of Biotechnology in East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai China. I came to US in 2012 and did my MS degree of Molecular Biology in Illinois Institute of Technology. I started to work in the lab since 2013 and I really love the work and the people here.
Gabby Borkowski (Research Technician)
I am a recent graduate from the University of Missouri and with a B.S. in biochemistry. I have always had an interest in neuroscience – particularly neurodegenerative disease – and am excited to apply my knowledge of biochemistry to our research. I hope to eventually continue my education through graduate school where I would focus on neurodegenerative research.
