Leadership
Executive Team
Managing Director
Mustafa Sahin, MD, PhD
Dr. Sahin is a Professor of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In addition to his roles as founder and Managing Director of our Center, Dr. Sahin is Rosamund Stone Zander Professor at Boston Children’s Hospital, Co-Director of the IDDRC (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center), and Director of the Translational Research Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Sahin was elected to the National Academy of Medicine. As a physician-scientist, he runs a laboratory focused on investigating the basic mechanisms by which nerve cells communicate with one another. He also cares for children with neurogenetic conditions such as tuberous sclerosis.
Executive Director
Kira A. Dies, ScM, CGC
As a Board Certified and Massachusetts Licensed Genetic Counselor, Ms. Dies has focused her work on neurodevelopmental disorders including elucidating genetic causes, performing gene-specific clinical treatment trials, and providing genetic counseling in a clinical setting. Since 2008, she has worked in various roles at Boston Children’s Hospital, including Senior Genetic Counseling Program Manager and Co-Director of Clinical Research Operations of the Translational Neuroscience Center. In January 2021, she was named Executive Director of the new Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also a fellow in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School.
Clinical Director
Lisa Albers Prock, MD, MPH
Dr. Prock serves as the Clinical Director of the RSZ TNC. She provides oversight for clinical operations and directs clinical education for our fellowship programs. Dr. Prock has led multiple clinical trials focused on the treatment of children and adolescent patients with Fragile X Syndrome. She is also the Associate Chief of the Division of Developmental Medicine, Director of the Developmental Medicine Center, and Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
Director, Clinical Research Operations
Stephanie Jo Brewster, MS, CGC
Ms. Brewster is a board-certified and licensed genetic counselor with over 20 years of clinical research experience. In her current and previous positions, Ms. Brewster has implemented and overseen numerous pediatric studies and clinical trials, providing guidance around protocol and consent form composition, Institutional Review Board (IRB) facilitation, infrastructure creation and study staff supervision. She is a current member of the Institutional Review Board and Director, Genetic Counseling at Boston Children’s. Ms. Brewster oversees our Clinical Research Operations Core.
Director, Translational In Vitro Models
Elizabeth Buttermore, PhD
Dr. Buttermore completed her postdoctoral training in 2016 in the laboratory of Clifford Woolf, in the Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and stayed on to lead phenotypic assay development with iPSC-derived human neurons in the Human Neuron Core. At the RSZ TNC, she provides guidance to investigators in the development of translational in vitro models and assay development for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Director, Translational Genomic Medicine
Maya Chopra, MBBS, FRACP
Dr. Chopra is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. She is a Pediatrician and Clinical Geneticist with expertise in the delineation and discovery of rare genetic pediatric syndromes. Dr. Chopra partners closely with the other RSZ TNC core directors to evaluate genetic disorders for suitability for gene-based therapies, clinical-trial readiness, and multidisciplinary clinics. She collaborates closely with local and external investigators in research efforts to understand the mechanisms underpinning neurodevelopmental syndromes, and how they can translate into treatment options.
Director, Medicinal Chemistry
Jed Hubbs, PhD
Dr. Hubbs is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and medicinal chemist focused on neuroscience drug discovery. His experience includes training in synthetic organic chemistry, leading drug discovery projects in industry and founding a biotech company as an entrepreneur. He takes a collaborative and flexible approach in his research aimed at bringing new molecules to patients. At the RSZ TNC, he provides input on experiments involving bioactive small molecules and works to improve their properties by designing analogs.
Domain Experts
Senior Strategic Advisor on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Anti-Racism (EDIBAR)
Eurnestine Brown, PhD
Dr. Brown is a developmental psychologist committed to transforming the narrative about the strengths and challenges of babies, children, families, and communities experiencing poverty, as well as historical racial, ethnic, and cultural disparities. Dr. Brown is dedicated to elevating processes, models, and policies that foster equity, self/community determination, and justice. She is the Director of Relational Equity and Belonging at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center and Liaison Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Access at Boston Children’s Hospital Division of Developmental Medicine (DDM). She will share her deep expertise in strategic planning, content review, and community engagement. She will partner with us on our EDIBAR efforts and initiatives across BCH, locally and nationally.
Clinical Trialist
Peter Davis, MD
Dr. Peter Davis, MD is a pediatric neurology specialist in Boston, MA. He received his medical degree from The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and completed a residency at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Davis is board certified in Neurology.
Managing Director, Human Neurobehavioral Core Service
Ellen Hanson, PhD
Dr. Ellen Hanson is the managing director of the Human Neurobehavioral Core Service (HNBCS) and a licensed Developmental Psychologist, Behavioral Specialist and Researcher. As an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of children who have significant developmental disabilities, Dr. Hanson has a specific interest in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with whom she was worked for over 20 years. At the RSZ TNC, her leadership of the HNBCS works to improve the development of behavioral assesment resources for translational neuroscience research at Boston Children’s Hospital and the greater research community.
Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Research Core
April Levin, MD
Dr. April Levin, MD is an Assistant Professor and attending physician in neurology at Harvard Medical school. Her clinical work and research focus is on management of autism from a child neurology perspective. At the RSZ TNC, her leadership of the Clinical Neurophysiology Research Core (CNRC) strives to break new ground in the acquisition and analysis of high-quality human neurophysiological data to reflect neural circuit integrity in neurologic disease and developmental disorders.
Administrative Operations
Administrative Operations Program Coordinator
Frederick Burki, MS, CNIM
Mr. Burki is a healthcare operations expert with over a decade of clinical, research and administrative experience. Prior to joining the RSZ TNC, he coordinated the Epilepsy Genetics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and managed Intraoperative Neurophysiology operations as a senior clinical specialist at Mass General Brigham and Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. As Administrative Operations Program Coordinator of the RSZ TNC, he works closely with the Executive Team members and Core Directors to facilitate its rapid growth and daily operations. Fred helps coordinate many of the RSZ TNC supported events, and his oversight includes its digital resources, website, events, tracking, pilot grants, seminars, and fellowship programs.
Executive Assistant, Administrative Operations
CJ Johnson, BA
After completing a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing at Emerson College, Ms. Johnson spent nearly twenty years as an administrative professional in the Radiation Oncology department at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She then joined the RSZ TNC team as Dr. Mustafa Sahin’s executive assistant in 2022. In that role, she manages Dr. Sahin’s calendar, supports his lab, and also works closely with the RSZ TNC executive team to organize meetings, symposiums, seminars, and other special events.
Program Coordinator, Clinical Research Operations
Bryana Berry-Wilson, BS
Ms. Berry-Wilson graduated with an individualized concentration degree in Endocrinology & Sexuality Studies from University of Massachusetts Amherst. In her role, she supports Clinical Research Operations for the RSZ TNC. She also supports TNC Faculty and EDI-BAR initiatives. She has a professional focus in Diversity & Equity as well as Pipeline Program management for underrepresented students. Ms. Berry-Wilson is also passionate about Health Equity.
Oversight is provided by two advisory groups profiled on these pages:Scientific Advisory Board >Strategic Advisory Council >.