People
Leadership
Mustafa Sahin, MD, PhD
Managing Director
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.
Kira A. Dies, ScM, CGC
Executive Director
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 (BCH), 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 BCH. She completed a fellowship in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School in May 2024 and serves as an Ethics Associate on the Ethics Advisory Committee at BCH. She is also a Clinical Instructor for the Boston University School of Medicine genetic counseling graduate program and a faculty member of LEND Boston.
Lisa Albers Prock, MD, MPH
Clinical Director
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.
Stephanie Jo Brewster, MS, CGC
Director, Clinical Research Operations
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.
Elizabeth Buttermore, PhD
Director, Translational In Vitro Models
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.
Maya Chopra, MBBS, FRACP
Director, Translational Genomic Medicine
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.
Jed Hubbs, PhD
Director, Medicinal Chemistry
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.
Pilar Trelles, MD
Associate Chief of Psychiatry, Outpatient Psychiatric Services
Dr. Trelles is a child psychiatrist whose clinical and research work has been dedicated to improving access to care for under-resourced communities with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). She is an advocate for decreasing barriers to care and increasing the representation of populations traditionally underrepresented in research through stakeholder engagement. Dr. Trelles has developed clinical programs for children with NDDs at Mount Sinai Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital directly linked to research initiatives and educational programs for clinical trainees. Dr. Trelles will help develop community-based programs and provide mentorship to trainees.
Domain Experts
Eurnestine Brown, PhD
Senior Strategic Advisor on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Anti-Racism (EDIBAR)
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.
Peter Davis, MD
Clinical Trialist
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.
Ellen Hanson, PhD
Managing Director, Human Neurobehavioral Core Service
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.
April Levin, MD
Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Research Core
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
Raymond Belanger Deloge, MS, GCG
Translational Genomic Medicine Specialist, Community Outreach Coordinator
Mr. Belanger Deloge is a board certified and licensed genetic counselor. He completed his genetic counseling training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. As a Translational Genomic Medicine Specialist and Community Outreach Coordinator with the RSZ TNC, he specializes in translational research for rare, genetic, neurodevelopmental disorders and facilitating partnerships between the RSZ TNC and Patient Advocacy Groups.
CJ Johnson, BA
Executive Assistant, Administrative Operations
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.
Bryana Berry-Wilson, BS
Program Coordinator, Clinical Research Operations
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 >.