S. Shelby Burks

University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Burks is a physician-scientist who completed training at the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Neurological Surgery. Since undergraduate studies, he has contributed to the field of neurotrauma. He began work in traumatic brain injury in emergency medicine early in his academic career. He started investigating peripheral nerve injury under the guidance of Dr. Allan Levi at the University of Miami. He has contributed to multiple clinical reports, specifically on sciatic nerve injury. Working in collaboration with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, he has been heavily involved in the transplantation of Schwann cells into human peripheral nerve injury, the first reported. In parallel to clinical research, Dr. Burks has led a laboratory investigating the supplementation of large peripheral nerve injuries.  

Emily L. Errante

University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Errante received her MS from the University of Connecticut and her PhD from Northern Illinois University; both focused on neuroscience and behavior. Her doctoral research focused on the various influences on motivated behaviors and how these could be modeled in rodents. Subsequently, Dr. Errante began her postdoctoral work at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. In this position, her research focuses on treatment methods for peripheral nerve injury in clinical and preclinical populations. Specifically, among other things, the laboratory utilizes Schwann cells and Schwann cell-derived exosomes as potential targets for better treatment methods.  

Ericka Schaeffer

University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Schaeffer received their MA and PhD at Northern Illinois University in psychology, focusing on neuroscience and behavior. Specifically, they concentrated on the influence of acute (stroke, radiation, spinal cord injury) and progressive (Alzheimer’s disease) nervous system pathology on behavior and the brain. This training has led them to their current position at the University of Miami as a post-doctoral fellow working for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Their research interests are currently focused on treatments to alleviate symptoms associated with peripheral nerve injury in the preclinical and clinical populations. These treatments include utilizing extracellular vesicles released from Schwann cells, critical in the nerve regeneration process within the peripheral nervous system.  

Patricia Jillian Ward

Emory University, School of Medicine

Dr. Ward completed her MS and PhD at the University of Louisville in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology. Dr. Ward began working on models of spinal cord injury with a focus on functional recovery with treadmill locomotor training. During her post-doctoral fellowship at Emory University, she worked with models of peripheral nerve injury while continuing the theme of activity-based therapies, such as exercise and neuronal stimulation, to enhance nerve regeneration. Dr. Ward also has expertise in techniques such as electrical stimulation, optogenetics, and electromyography. Her lab’s current research is focused on understanding the mechanisms of sympathetic axon regeneration in peripheral nerves.