Wendy P. Gonzalez, NP

Dr. Przedborski's academic interests focus on the molecular and cellular biology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). His ongoing research aims at understanding the contributions of cell-autonomous and non cell-autonomous mechanisms to neurodegeneration using both toxic and genetic experimental models of PD and ALS. In keeping with this goal, how alterations in mitochondrial biology, especially of mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy, provoke degeneration of specific subpopulations of neurons is one of the main areas of research in the Przedborski laboratory. To what extent and by which mechanisms do non-neuronal cells, like microglia and astrocytes, participate in the demise of neurons in neurodegenerative disorders, such as PD and ALS, represent a second main line of research in this laboratory. These research efforts are supported by federal grants from both NIH and the DoD as well as by several private agencies such as the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and the Thomas Hartman Foundation. Dr. Przedborski is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience and an Associate Editor of Movement Disorders. He also serves as an ad hoc Reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Adminsration, the Department of Defense, the Canadian Medical Research Council, and various medical journals including Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA.

Rachel Richins is an adult nurse practitioner in the division of Epilepsy and Sleep. She is a graduate of UCLA and Columbia University School of Nursing and is board certified by the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC). She has worked at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center both as a registered nurse and as a nurse practitioner and brings her experience in bedside nursing to her practice as a nurse practitioner, caring for patients in the office setting as well as in the inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Rachel’s areas of clinical practice include caring for adults with epilepsy, and adults with sleep disorders. She has an interest in using behavioral interventions for the treatment of insomnia. Board Certification: Board certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

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.