Laboratory Staff

Jeffrey Deitch, PhD is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Deitch earned his BS from Rutgers College and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 1986 from the University of Virginia. This was one of the first Neuroscience Graduate Programs in the country. His post-doctoral training involved pioneering studies in neuronal cell culture and laser confocal microscopy in laboratories at Albany Medical College and the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Deitch joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Pennsylvania as a Research Associate in 1992, and then served as Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine. In 1996 he joined the Department of Neurology faculty of what is now Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Deitch has published over 30 papers, chapters and abstracts on studies ranging from neurodegeneration in the auditory system to groundbreaking work on the fundamental structure of neurons, and teaches extensively on Neurological topics. He is currently conducting research projects on the effect of genetic background on ALS disease progression, on the potential use of “neurotrophic factors” as a therapeutic for ALS, and on developing stem cells for use in studying how ALS kills motor neurons.
 

Guillermo Alexander, PhD is a Professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Alexander graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami in 1968. Following graduation, he entered the Air Force Officer Training School. Upon completion of officer training, was assigned to the National Parachute Test Center where he served for four years (1968-1972) as engineer in charge of the simulated human forms section of the instrumentation branch where he supervised the design, construction and repair of airborne telemetry systems for use in testing parachutes. Afterwards, he earned his MS in Biomedical Engineering from University of Miami in 1974 and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas in 1982. His current research involves: 1) Basic research into the mechanisms of selective vulnerability responsible for cell death in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS; and 2) The study of biomarkers found in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of individuals with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). These studies are designed to provide insights into the mechanisms underlying exaggerated pain states. Dr. Alexander has worked as a scientist and professor at numerous medical institutions, has penned a number of journal articles, and has co-authored several book chapters.
 
Robin Yano is the Research Assistant for the ALS Hope Foundation Research Laboratory. She graduated from Temple University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience. Early on, Robin actively pursued biomedical research where she began training in tissue culture and molecular biology techniques. Upon graduation, Temple University’s Fels Institute for Molecular Biology and Cancer Research employed Robin as Laboratory Technician for their Virology/Tissue Culture Core, dealing with the regulation of the G1 phase of the cell cycle, tumorigenesis, and senescence. There, she generated, amplified and tested recombinant viruses, and provided primary cells from wild type and knockout mice for study. Before bringing her expertise to Drexel University, Robin used her tissue culture skills to generate a mammalian cell frozen tissue bank, and a bank of titered viruses.
 
Robin is currently responsible for management of the laboratory. She uses her laboratory animal science ability to care for the transgenic mouse colony, routinely timing matings and carrying out experiments. She assists with primary cultures of neruons and glial cells from the cerebrum and spinal cord. She also assists with the investigation of the human inflammatory response as it is related to motor neuron death, more specifically the role of sPLA2.
 
When Robin was young, her brother was involved in an accident that left him a quadriplegic. He once gave her a picture of himself standing. His accident opened an area in biomedical science and shed light on the brain’s control over the human body, pathologies, trauma, and treatments. Her drive is to keep learning and thinking of ways to help others maintain more than just pictures of themselves standing.
 
Matthew Myerson is a Research Assistant for the ALS Hope Foundation Research Laboratory. He is a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he earned my Bachelor of Arts in Biology. He hopes to embark upon a career that entails research in neurodegenerative disease will afford him the opportunity to use his knowledge to enhance the ALS research. "I have been slowly drawn to neurodegenerative research through my interest of molecular structure. Neuronal inclusions and protein manipulation within the brain has been my direction for the past two years and hopes his interests yield fascinating discoveries within a laboratory setting. Breakthroughs in translated data from the mouse model and mechanism research in ALS and will produce the discovery and understanding of biologically important processes at the molecular level." Being interested in the principal tools of protein biochemistry, enzymology and neurology he aspires to support the structural efforts of the CNS (central nervous system) and PNS (peripheral nervous system). The structural biology of membrane proteins where many of the most fascinating and crucial processes which occur in living cells are modulated by integral membrane proteins. Structural studies of biochemically important proteins are opening new doorways to the understanding of how the brain works and this will hopefully yield ideas of how to repair the brain when certain mechanisms are blocked. "I only hope that my efforts will contribute to this ongoing development in science."