Neurology PSTP Scholars

Past Scholars

Fred Shen

Research Interests:

Fred Shen is a current Northwestern neurology resident who was awarded an NIH Research Education UE5 grant for his project entitled Investigating cell type specific ATXN1 somatic repeat instability and pathological mechanisms. He will be working with mentors Dr. Puneet Opal and Dr. David Gate. He will complete neurology residency in 2026 and will pursue a fellowship in Movement Disorders following his research year.

Jonathan Brent

Education

MD, PhD: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (2013)

Research Interests:

Dr. Brent earned his MD and PhD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2013. He completed his neurology residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2017. Dr. Brent received the prestigious NIH-R25 training award and has been investigating the molecular mechanisms of ALS in the laboratory of Dr. Vladimir Gelfand. He completed a McGaw fellowship in Neuromuscular Medicine with the long-term goal of pursuing a career as a physician scientist.

Neil Nadkarni

Education

BA: Cornell University, Biological Sciences (2009)

Medical Student Fellowship: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2012-2013)

MD: Boston University (2014)

Subspecialty interests: Epilepsy, Cognitive Disorders, Gender Differences in Neurology

Research Interests:

My interest in further understanding mechanisms of disease etiology with long-term hopes of improving outcomes makes the PSTP a vital outlet for channeling my long-term aspirations of being a clinician-scientist. I was first interested in research by doing a program at Boston University with Dr. Andrew Budson at the Boston VA, where we looked at reducing false alarms using metacognitive cues in the Mild Cognitive Impairment/Alzheimers Disease population. During my third year, while witnessing an adverse patient outcome, I found myself intrigued by mechanisms of disease in preeclampsia. I received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Student Fellowship for 2012-2013, where I further fleshed out my research interest under the guidance of Dr. Ananth Karumanchi and Dr. Augustine Rajakumar in limiting pathologic phenomena of this condition of pregnancy. This experience convinced me to enter science, as I felt no better intellectual exhilaration than discovering mechanisms of disease and to translating these observations to potential patient therapies. Lastly, I also did work under the guidance of Dr. Georgia Montouris in medical school looking at major congenital malformations in children of pregnant women on antiepileptic drugs. I hope to further contribute to our understanding of neurologic disease over my time in the PSTP and beyond.

Rafal Sobota

Research Interests:

Rafal Sobota is a former Academic Chief Resident who was been awarded an NIH Research Education R25 grant for his project entitled Host Genetic Predisposition to Cerebral Malaria. He was supported by an interdisciplinary mentorship team from multiple institutions, including Dr. John Kessler in Neurology, Dr. Babafemi Taiwo in Infectious Disease, and Dr. Scott Williams in Human and Population Genetics. Utilizing genomics and transcriptomics, he used both hypothesis-driven and agnostic approaches to help elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underly the development of debilitating, severe cerebral symptoms of Plasmodium falciparum infection. This project allowed him to expand his interests in genetics, global health and neurocritical care.

Sarah Brooker

Research Interests:

Sarah Brooker is a former Northwestern neurology resident who was awarded an NIH Research Education R25 grant for her project entitled Role of LRRK2 mutation in mediating pro-inflammatory mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. She is working in Dr. Dimitri Krainc’s lab utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells to elucidate neuroinflammatory mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis. She completed her neurology residency in 2022 and will pursue a fellowship in Movement Disorders following her R25 research year.

Scott Adney

Research Interests:

Scott Adney is a former Northwestern McGaw senior resident who has been awarded an NIH Research Education R25 grant for his project entitled Function and Pharmacology of SCN2A Mutations Associated with Epileptic Encephalopathies. His research mentor is Alfred George, MD. Scott is pursuing fellowship training in the Northwestern McGaw Epilepsy Fellowship. His research focuses on elucidating biophysical properties of pathogenic mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels affected in monogenic epilepsy. He is investigating the function of neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to determine how alterations in channel function lead to epileptogenic neuronal properties.

Sheng Tang

Research Interests:

Sheng Tang is a former Northwestern neurology resident who was awarded an NIH Research Education R25 grant for his project entitled Investigating the pathogenic mechanisms of novel non-coding variants in SCN1A. He will be working with mentors Dr. Gemma Carvill and Dr. Elizabeth Gerard. He completed neurology residency in 2024 and will pursue a fellowship in Epilepsy following his research year.