Neurology Research Day 2025
Friday, February 21, 2025
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
ProMedica Neurosciences Center
2130 W. Central Ave, 2nd floor
Rooms 2011 & 2012
Photos from the event:
Ajay Nair presenting his poster titled "Obstetric Outcomes and Effects from COL6A3-Associated Bethlem Myopathy: A case report."
Dr. Owais presenting his poster to about Anti-Seizure Medications and their effect on Body Mass Index to Dr. Sanei.
Dr. McCleary's poster about Moya Moya Disease.
Dr. McCleary presenting his poster about Moyamoya Disease to Dr. Li.
Emma Wolinsky and Britta Eldridge present their Platform presentation about "Auditory Hallucination Simulation & Medical Student Empathy."
Dr. Moghaddam listens to Gulbudin Muhammad talk about his group’s research, "Dog Bites and Epilepsy in Children."
2025 keynote speaker:
Title: Targeting nerve injury-induced neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration
jeffrey a. loeb, M.D., Ph.D.
Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify the interplay between and environment and genetics in ALS.
- Participants will be able to describe the impact of nerve injury can trigger focal onset location of ALS disease.
- Participants will be able to develop new approaches to target neurodegeneration of both ALS and Alzheimer’s disease by blocking a common mechanism that promotes neuroinflammation.
Jeffrey A. Loeb is the John S. Garvin Chair, Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation at the University of Illinois Chicago. He received his A.B. in chemistry, M.D. and Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Chicago. After completing a neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School to obtain fellowship training in epilepsy at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and conducted postdoctoral work in the Department of Neurobiology under Dr. Gerald Fischbach.
His career has been focused on how early neural development can teach us what goes wrong in human disease. This trajectory led to the development of a novel, targeted drug for degenerative diseases, including ALS and Alzheimer’s, by blocking neural inflammation. His research in epilepsy has led to a one-of-a-kind, large-scale, systems biology project approach that integrates human brain tissues with molecular and cellular pathways that underlie the abnormal electrical activities that characterize this common neurological disorder.
Dr. Loeb is director of the University of Illinois NeuroRepository, served as director of biomedical informatics in UIC’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and is the Chief Clinical Strategist for the Sturge-Weber Foundation. He currently leads the ‘I-BRAIN’ project at University of Illinois Discovery Partners Institute to bring his discoveries back to the patients.
day at a glance
8:30 – 8:55 AM Breakfast
9:00 – 9:05 AM Opening Remarks – Noor Pirzada, MD
9:10 – 10:05 AM Platform Presentations
9:10 – 9:25 AM Aizaz Ali
9:30 – 9:45 AM Caroline Swain
9:50 – 10:05 AM Gulbudin Muhammad
10:15 – 11:15 AM Keynote Speaker – Jeffrey A. Loeb, M.D., Ph.D.
11:15 – 11:30 AM Neurology Jeopardy
11:30 – 12:30 PM Lunch
12:35 – 1:30 PM Platform Presentations
12:35 – 12:50 PM Rayan Magsi
12:55 – 1:10 PM Emma Wolinsky
1:15 – 1:30 PM Madhu Vishnu Sankar Reddy Rami Reddy
1:35 – 2:45PM Poster Viewing/Judging
3:00 – 3:30 PM Awards/Closing Remarks
2025 platform presentations
2025 platform winner:
Recapitulation of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Caroline Swain, Khoi Le, Kala Venkiteswaran, Thyagarajan Subramanian
A Comprehensive Comparison of Machine Learning Models in ICH Prognostication: Retrospective
Review of 1501 Intra-Cerebral Hemorrhage Patients from the Qatar Stroke Database
Aizaz Ali, Umar T Ayub, Khaled Gharaibeh, Rahul Rao, Naveed Akhtar, Mouhammad Jumaa,
Ashfaq Shuaib.
Reversal of Epileptic Encephalopathy Following Resection of Focal Cortical Dysplasia:
A Case Report
Gulbudin Muhammad, Mariam Noor, Cardell Louis, Jamie Stout, Mehmood Rashid, Ajaz Sheikh,
Michael Nagel, Imran Ali, Naeem Mahfooz
Public Philosophy’s Impact on Death and Dying Discussions in the Community and its
Implications for Healthcare
Rayan Magsi MD, Nina Atanasova PhD, Deepa Malaiyandi MD
Auditory Hallucination Simulation & Medical Student Empathy
Victoria Kelly, Jamie Dowling, Thomas Roach, Emma Wolinsky, Britta Eldridge, Charlotte
Lennox, Alyssa Davis, Catherine Howell, Kelly Morgan, Carly Kelly, Sonali Doshi, and
Chandani Lewis.
Differential Regulation of LAMP2A in Parkinsonian and Cocaine Self-Administering Rat
Models: Insights into Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy
Madhu Vishnu Sankar Reddy Rami Reddy, Sachi Bhati, Vaibhavi Peshattiwar, Caroline
Swain, Dilshan Beligala, Dipesh Pokharel, Khoi Le, Thyagarajan Subramanian and Kala
Venkiteswaran
2025 poster presentations
2025 poster winner:
A Pluralistic Ethics Approach to the Use/Misuse of the ICH Score
Rayan Magsi, Aizaz Ali, Ashfaq Shuaib
The Influence of Hemispheric Specialization on Striatal Transplantation Outcomes in
Parkinson’s Disease Model
D. Pokharel, T. White, C. Swain, I. Nester, V. Peshattiwar, K. Le, K. Venkiteswaran,
T. Subramanian.
Revolutionizing Pediatric Brain Injury Care: Mesenchymal Umbilical Cord Stem Cells
and Multidisciplinary Therapies
Naeem Mahfooz, Mariam Noor, Saba Shakoor, Nina Grillis, Usman Shakoor, Ajaz Sheikh,
Zahid Shakoor.
Why do patients with severe metal illness smoke cigarettes?
Paige Prologo-Richardson, Davis Michael Paternite, Emma Wolinsky, Mark Houdi, Catherine
Howell, Alyssa Davis, Britta Eldrige, Charlotte Lennox, Carly Kelley, Jamie Dowling,
and Chandani Lewis.
Anti-Seizure Medications and their effect on Body Mass Index
Syed Owais MD, Paige Prologo-Richardson MD, Fahham Asghar MD, Anja Rabljenovic, Hira
Pervez MD, Anim Riaz MD, Ajaz Sheikh MD, Imran Ali MD.
Seizure Emergency Following Silver-Containing Dental Implants in Pediatric Patients:
A Case Series
Naeem Mahfooz, Gulbudin Muhammad, Cardell Louis, Jamie Stout, Saba Tariq, Mariam Noor,
Ajaz Sheikh, Imran Ali, Mehmood Rashid.
A New Era of Clinical Improvement in Rett Syndrome: The Role of Trofinetide
Gulbudin Muhammad, Saba Tariq, Cardell Louis, Jamie Stout, Mariam Noor, Mehmood Rashid,
Ajaz Sheikh, Imran Ali, Naeem Mahfooz
Ictal Belly Dancing
Paige Prologo-Richardson MD, Hira Pervez MD, Syed Owais MD, Imran Ali MD, Bashar Saour
MD, Vicki Ramsey-Williams MD, Ajaz Sheikh MD, Sumayya Naz MD.
Internal Carotid Arteriopathy a Rare Cause of Focal Neurocysticercosis – A Case Report
Hira Pervez MD, Mekes Ditamo DO, Khaled Gharaibeh MD, Ehad Afreen MD, Syed Zaidi,
MD.
Moyamoya Disease in a Patient with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome – A Case Report
Zachary McCleary, Ahsan Ali, Alisa Gega, Aizaz Ali
A Single Center Study on Brain Death Testing Competency
Rayan Magsi MD, Clair Miller MD, Dionne Swor DO.
Dog Bites in Epilepsy in Children: A Dual Case Report on Heightened Vulnerability
Gulbudin Muhammad, Jamie Stout, Cardell Louis, Mehmood Rashid, Saba Tariq, Mariam
Noor, Ajaz Sheikh, Imran Ali, Naeem Mahfooz.
Biphasic Onset of Spinal Epidural Hematoma: A Diagnostic Challenge
Brianna N Bailey MS, Daniel A. Branch BS, Aditya Acharya BS, Clayton T Buback, MD.
Fentanyl-laces Marijuana: A New Crisis in Adolescent Overdose
Jama Hersi, Deeanshu Singh, Saba Shakoor, Gulbudin Muhammad, Usman Shakoor, Syed Muhammad
Owais, Naeem Mahfooz.
A Rare GFM1 Mutation in Infantile Spasms and Combined Oxidative Phosphorylation Deficiency-1:
Insights from a Case Report and Literature Review
Ahmed Ba Theeb, Mohamad Alsakka, Syed Owais, Nameer Aladamat, Michael Nagel
Inspiring Future Scientists and Clinicians: A Hands-n Neuroscience Outreach Program
Raghad Elhag BS, Noor Abdulhammed BS
Dual Positivity for West Nile and Saint Louis Encephalitis: A rase Case of central
Nervous system Arboviral Infection
Safa Habib, BS, Joel Kammeyer, MPH, MD
Vaping and Seizure Activity: A Case Report
Gulbudin Muhammad, Jami M Stout, Saba Tariq, Mehmood Rashid, Mariam Noor, Ajaz Sheikh,
Imran Ali, Naeem Mahfooz
Mimickers of Cervical Radiculopathy in Oncologic Patients: A systematic Review
Isaac Arefi, BS, Benjamin R. Klein, BA, Kyle Behrens, MD, Hossein Elgafy MD, Mina
Tanios MD
Suspected SUDEP in Dravet Syndrome: Examining the Use of Stiripentol
Gulbudin Muhammad, Cardell Louis, Jamie Stout, Mehmood Rashid, Mariam Noor, Ajaz Sheikh,
Imran Ali, Naeem Mahfooz
Head Circumference Growth: A Clue to Underlying Pathology in Newborns
Pedrum Nazem, Muhammad Gulbudin, Naeem Mahfooz
Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome (MRS) and Lower Motor Neuron Weakness: A Case Report
and Literature Review
Ahmed Ba Theeb, Jeffrey Peel, Rohan Sharma, William D. Freeman
Undetermined Etiology of Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis
Paige Prologo-Richardson and Vicki Ramsey-Williams
Obstetric Outcomes and Effects from COL6A3-Associated-Bethlem Myopathy: A Case Report
Ajay Nair, Sabeena Malik, James Van Hook
2025 poster and platform presentation judges
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our poster and platform presentation judges for their valuable time, expertise, and support in evaluating the submissions and helping to ensure the success of our event.
Nezam Altorok, M.D.
Professor
Fellowship Program Director, Rheumatology
Residency Program Director, Internal Medicine
Department of Medicine
University of Toledo
Ragheb Assaly, M.D.
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Medicine
Chief, Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Medicine
Co-Medical Director, MICU
Department of Medicine
University of Toledo
Alastair Hoyt, M.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Surgery
University of Toledo
Jeff Loeb, M.D., Ph.D.
John S. Garvin Chair, Professor & Head
Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation
University of Illinois
Amin Sanei Moghaddam, M.D.
ProMedica Physician Group, Neurology
Clinical Assistant Professor, UT Neurology
University of Toledo Neurology Residency Alumni