Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Conduct Leading Research in the Field of Neuroscience

Investigative teams at the Neuroscience Institute are committed to advancing the field through novel research

This past year, team members of the Neuroscience Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine conducted significant neuroscience research.

2019-2020 highlight projects include:

• Martin Gizzi, Site PI. A randomized, double-blind,placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study to assess the safety and efficacy ofElezanumab in Acute Ischemic Stroke.
• Mohammed Khan, Site PI, Florian Thomas, Co-Investigator. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study to assess the safety and efficacy of Elezanumab in acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury.
• Naomi Lubarr, Site PI, Hooman Azmi, Co-Investigator. A randomized,placebo-surgery-controlled, double-blinded, multi-center, Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating the efficacy/safety of VY-AADC02 in Advanced Parkinson’sDisease with motor fluctuations.
• Krupa Pandey, Site PI. Traditional versus early aggressive therapy for MS.
• Florian Thomas, Site PI. A multi-center, randomized, double-blind,placebo-controlled phase iii study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of PXT3003 in CMT1A.
• Florian Thomas, Site PI. North American Registry for Care &Research in MS, a physician/clinician-based registry & longitudinal database of clinical records & patient-centered outcomes.
• Bervoets B, Wei N, Mateiu L, Asselbergh B, ThomasFP, et al. Transcriptional dysregulation by a nucleus-localized aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-associated with CMT. Nat Commun 2019;10:5045.
• Pan Y, Kafaie J, Thomas FP.Prospective 16-year longitudinal study of DI CMT-C. Muscle Nerve2020;61;111-5.
• Hunter SF, Thomas FP, et al. Switchingto fingolimod in PREFERMS: Effect of treatment history & naïvety on clinical, MRI,& treatment satisfaction outcomes. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2020; in press.
• Lorenz RA, Auerbach S, et al, Pandey K, Thomas FP, Chang Y-P. Improving sleep among adults with MS using mindfulness plus sleep education. West J Nurs Res 2020; in press.
• Thomas FP, Saporta M, et al. Patient-reported impact of CMT disease: protocol for a real-world digital lifestyle study. Neurodegen Disease 2020; in press.
• Azmi H, Cocoziello L, Nyirenda T, Douglas C, Jacob B, Thomas J, Cricco D, Finnerty G, Sommer K, Rocco A, Fox C, Thomas R, Roth P, Thomas FP. Adherence to a strict medication protocol can reduce length of stay in hospitalized patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2020; in press.