Current Lab Members:

Christopher Cardozo, MD – Principal Investigator

Dr. Christopher Cardozo is a practicing physician specializing in Pulmonary Diseases, and a clinician scientist. He received his BS from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) College of Engineering and his MD from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of the Molecular Program of the Veterans Administration Rehabilitation Research and Development Service National Center for the Medical Consequences of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), and Staff Physician at the James J. Peters VA.

The goal of his research is to improve the function and quality of life for persons with spinal cord injury by improving the understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle atrophy and bone loss, understanding the barriers to neurorepair and neuroplasticity, and by developing and testing interventions. His work combines the power of mouse genetics and molecular biology to address several important questions pertinent to muscle loss and functional impairments after SCI. Active areas of investigation include investigation of the role of ryanodine receptor dysfunction in impairment of specific force generation after SCI, biological basis for the effect of age at the time of SCI to worsen outcomes, and exploring the role of connexin hemichannels in post-SCI muscle atrophy.

An additional area of investigation has been the role of the adaptor protein Numb in adult skeletal muscle. Current work in the lab is studying the role(s) of Numb in myocytes and muscle fibers using conditional, inducible knockouts and models of aging and muscle injury.

Contact info:
email: christopher.cardozo@mssm.edu
phone: 718.584.9000 x1828

Rita De Gasperi, PhD – Research Scientist

Carlos A. Toro, PhD – Assistant Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. Carlos Toro is a molecular cell biologist and biochemist specializing in spinal cord neurobiology. Dr. Toro received a Licentiate degree in Biochemistry from University of Concepcion, Chile. He worked in Dr. Juan Carlos Vera lab studying the molecular mechanisms and pathways by which ascorbic acid is incorporated, recycled and metabolized in cells. During this time he received training in essential molecular and cell biology techniques, as well as in ultra-resolution microscopy procedures. Later, as a graduate student, he worked in Dr. Sebastian Brauchi lab at Austral University of Chile. His research goal was to study and characterize the plasma membrane dynamics of the cold receptor TRPM8. The experimental procedures were mainly through live-cell Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, single-particle-tracking analysis, calcium imaging and other high-resolution imaging techniques; combined with biochemistry and molecular biology approximations.

As a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Toro worked in Dr. Alejandro Lomniczi lab (formerly the lab of Dr. Sergio Ojeda), where he transitioned his research from cell neurobiology into reproductive neuroendocrinology. He became passionate about performing research using molecular, cellular and physiological approaches in order to understand how epigenetic mechanisms are able to drive neuroendocrine responses. Thanks to the support from NIH, Dr. Toro was able to unveil new transcriptional machineries involved in the repression and activation of puberty.

Dr. Toro joined the Cardozo lab in 2018. His current research is focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in neuronal regrowth and neuroplasticity, relevant to functional impairments after spinal cord injury (SCI). Dr. Toro’s experiments are designed to generate and validate new hypotheses related to the mechanisms responsible for poor outcomes after SCI of ApoE4 carriers, and the role of synjaptojanin1 in functional recovery.

Contact Info:
email: carlos.toro@mssm.edu
carlos.torochacon@va.gov 

Wei Zhao, PhD – Associate Professor

Dr. Wei Zhao is an Associate Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a Research Health Scientist at the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center. Dr. Zhao is a trained molecular biologist with specific training and expertise in neuroscience.

Dr. Zhao received her PhD in molecular genetics from Fudan University, China. She received postdoctoral training at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, investigating the role of GATA1 transcription factor in red cell differentiation. Later as an Assistant Professor at Mount Sinai, her work focused on: 1) pharmacological interventions of neurological disorders such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using rodent models; 2) identification and characterization of novel biomarkers of traumatic brain injury (TBI). After joining the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Dr. Zhao carried out research on understanding bone-muscle interaction in the context of spinal cord injury (SCI) and developing novel interventions.

Dr. Zhao’s current research projects have focused on: (1) developing non-opioid interventions to reduce neuropathic pain using rodent models of SCI and peripheral nerve injuries including spared nerve injury (SNI) and chronic constriction injury (CCI) to the sciatic nerve, and identifying underlying mechanisms; (2) developing non-opioid interventions to alleviate arthritis pain and identifying underlying mechanisms; (3) identification of biomarkers of spinal cord injury pain evolution during acute rehabilitation.

Contact info:
wei.zhao@mssm.edu
wei.zhao@va.gov

Nicholas Johnson, PhD – Postdoctoral Researcher

Jiangping (Judy) Pan, BA – Research Technician

Judy Pan is an experienced laboratory technician who has performed a wide variety of assays including cloning and Chip-PCR.

Stella Kazalas, PhD – Research Technician

 

Christine Chow – Undergraduate Student

Christine Chow is an undergraduate student studying English and Biology at Barnard College.

Fabian Llorens – Undergraduate Student

Fabian is an undergraduate student studying Biology at New York University.

Benjamin Lam – Undergraduate Student

Benjamin Lam is an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech studying for a BS in chemical engineering. Benjamin is investigating methods to increase the solubility of boldine in water, in order to improve its bioavailability.

Former Lab Members:

Abdurrahman Aslan, MPharm, PhD – Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Aslan is a pharmacologist. He received his PhD in Pharmacology, a Master’s degree in Pharmacognosy, and a BA in Pharmacy. After two years as a postdoctoral researcher in a behavioral pharmacology lab at LSU Health Sciences Center, he joined Dr. Cardozo’s Lab in September 2021. During his time in the lab, Dr. Aslan investigated the role of the adaptor protein Numb in aging-related muscle loss. He utilized conditional, inducible knockdown models and advanced methodologies in muscle electrophysiology and molecular biology to study the decline of Numb levels in aging muscles and their impact on muscle force generation and structural integrity.

Daniella Azulai, BA – Research Technician

Daniella Azulai graduated as a Biology major from Bard College where she completed her thesis on the co-occurrence of antibiotic resistance and virulence in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas Aeruginosa. Her consequent interest in cell and molecular biology led her to the Cardozo Lab, where she assisted with various projects, such as probing the role of the Numb protein in skeletal muscle, as well as a determinant of mitochondrial function. Daniella completed a Post Bacc program at Hunter College and is now an MD candidate at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Zachary Graham, PhD – Assistant Professor

Zachary Graham is a muscle physiologist with a background in the effect of muscle loading on intracellular mechanosensor signaling. His current interests are focused on the mechanisms responsible for the degradation of skeletal muscle after paralysis. Zachary completed his BA in Spanish at The Ohio State University with a certificate in Hispanic Studies from the University of Granada in Granada, Spain. He received his MS and PhD in exercise physiology at the University of Kansas under Phil Gallagher and joined the Cardozo lab in 2014.

Zachary’s research is based upon finding exercise and pharmaceutical treatments to limit the effects of paralysis on mitochondrial degradation and muscle function. There are two main aims behind Zachary’s projects: (1) Discovering the role of de novo formation of connexin hemichannels in creating skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction after spinal cord injury and (2) Establishing evidence to show protecting mitochondrial dysregulation after SCI can prevent changes in metabolomic profile of skeletal muscle and slow the loss in muscle function after SCI.

Contact info:
e-mail: zgraham@uab.edu

Lauren Harlow, MS – Animal Specialist & Research Technician

Lauren holds a Masters degree in pharmacology and has a long-standing interest in the fields of pharmacology and spinal cord injury. She is a skilled and very experienced small animal surgeon and has worked on many projects in the field of SCI research.

Kaitlin Johnson, MA – Research Technician

Kaitlin is an experienced research technician with years of experience involving all aspects of animal care. She is also very skilled in animal behavioral examination, histological procedures, and molecular and cellular biology techniques.

Kaitlin earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the State University of Cortland. During this time, she discovered her passion for animal research, and began working as an intern for different animal facilities across Long Island, New York. In 2017, Kaitlin earned her Master’s degree from Stony Brook University, where she performed studies in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County on predation effects of diamondback terrapins. Upon graduation, she kept gaining vast clinical experience by working in animal hospitals.

During early 2019, Kaitlin joined the Veterinary Medical Unit at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, and soon thereafter she dedicated part of her time to assist the Cardozo lab in projects related to the spinal cord injury (SCI) field. In 2020, Kaitlin officially joined the Cardozo lab full-time as a Research Technician, and worked with Dr. Toro studying the effects of human variants of Apolipoprotein E on functional outcomes after SCI, using transgenic mouse models, behavioral examination, histology and cellular and molecular biology techniques.

Fred Ko, MD – NIA Ko8 Award Research Fellow

Dr. Fred Ko is a geriatrician scientist. He is an Assistant Professor in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a Staff Physician at the GRECC, James J. Peters VA Medical Center. Dr. Ko received his medical degree at the George Washington University, where he also completed residency training in Internal Medicine. He completed fellowship training in Geriatric Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Ko also received master of science degrees in physiology from UCLA and in clinical research from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine.

Dr. Ko’s research goals are to utilize basic and clinical research approaches to: (1) determine and modify aging-related molecular mechanisms that increase risks for poor surgical outcomes such as sarcopenia and immobility in mice and (2) use this knowledge to develop mechanism-driven interventions that prevent, attenuate or reverse these surgery-related adverse outcomes in vulnerable older adults. His recent research projects have focused on: (1) characterizing inflammatory and skeletal muscle mitochondrial changes in a mouse model (IL-10 ablated mouse) of chronic inflammation and frailty; (2) developing a mouse model of laparotomy that allows mechanistic studies of aging-related molecular, metabolic, and behavioral responses induced by surgery; and (3) determining whether peri-operative alterations in inflammatory and stress genes influence adverse functional and cognitive outcomes in older adults after elective hip replacement and hip fracture surgery in clinical studies.

Contact info:
email: fred.ko@mssm.edu

Xin-hua Liu, MD – Assistant Professor & Senior Scientist

Xin-hua has devoted over two decades to advancing the understanding of the endocrinology of androgens and, more recently, the cellular and biochemical basis for disorders of skeletal muscle function and organismal metabolism after spinal cord injury. His work formed the basis for the appreciation that Numb is an androgen-responsive gene that may be involved in responses of adult skeletal muscle to stress states such as denervation or spinal cord injury. He also has demonstrated robust oxidation of skeletal muscle ryanodine receptors associated with loss of the capacity of the receptors to bind calstabin-1, an important factor regulating their gating as calcium release channels. Finally, in a series of studies of the integrated physiology responsible for the increased risk of persons with spinal cord injury for accumulation of adipose tissue and development of insulin resistance and diabetes, he has conducted seminal studies on effects of myostatin on cellular metabolism, and identified new insights regarding effects of spinal cord injury on integrated physiological responses pertinent to metabolic control of glucose levels and fatty acid metabolism.