I am a physician scientist focused on understanding mechanisms of neurodegenerative disease, and especially the vulnerability of motor neurons.  The primary focus of my laboratory research is childhood disorders caused by genetic mutations in the nuclear pore complex, including Triple A syndrome.  My aim is to better understand how disruption of nucleocytoplasmic transport leads to neurodegeneration.  I also participate in clinical research on Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), aimed at understanding the genetic susceptibility to AFM among children, defining clinical and EMG characteristics of illness and recovery, and developing laboratory-based model systems for the study of AFM.