Evans, Lilias

Julia Yasek, MS, FNP-BC, DNP is a Clinical Research Nurse Practitioner in the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine. Prior to pursuing nursing, Dr. Yasek conducted laboratory and clinical research in the Department of Neurology at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, with a focus on neuromuscular disorders, genetics, and imaging. She subsequently graduated from the UMass Medical School Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program, and practiced for several years in both an inpatient acute care setting and a primary care practice, with a focus on underserved populations. Dr. Yasek also has interests and training in palliative care, healthcare policy, and quality improvement, and brings these many skills to her role, as part of the multidisciplinary care team in the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center.

Wendy P. Gonzalez is a Nurse Practitioner for the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease at Columbia University Medical Center. Wendy is bilingual in English and Spanish and is a native of Ecuador who came to the United States as a child. She originally attended Christ Hospital School of Nursing in Jersey City, New Jersey, where she received an Associates of Science Degree in Nursing. Wendy then attended Lehman College, graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. While working as a Director of Nursing in an adult day care center and subsequently as a Case Manager for Amerigroup, she attended Hunter College School of Nursing and in 2019 was awarded a Master of Science in Nursing as a Gerontological/Adult Nurse Practitioner. Wendy is a board-certified Adult Nurse Practitioner licensed in New York and New Jersey. She has worked primarily with adults and the elderly since she started her nursing career. Wendy is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Neurology, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Delta Zeta Chapter of Nursing, the Golden Key International Honour Society and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Dr. Raza is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the MDS Center at Columbia University in New York, NY. She started her research in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) in 1982 and moved to Rush University, Chicago, Illinois in 1992, where she was the Charles Arthur Weaver Professor in Oncology and Director, Division of Myeloid Diseases. The MDS Program, along with a Tissue Repository containing more than 50,000 samples from MDS and acute leukemia patients was successfully relocated to the University of Massachusetts in 2004 and to Columbia University in 2010. Before moving to New York, Dr. Raza was the Chief of Hematology Oncology and the Gladys Smith Martin Professor of Oncology at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. She has published the results of her laboratory research and clinical trials in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Blood, Cancer, Cancer Research, the British Journal of Hematology, Leukemia, and Leukemia Research. Dr. Raza serves on numerous national and international panels as a reviewer, consultant, and advisor and is the recipient of a number of awards.