Our Team
Defne Amado, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Preclinical and Translational Research Lead, Penn Neurogenetics Therapy Center
Founding Director, Penn ALS Research Program
Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania
Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Amado is a physician-scientist who treats ALS and runs a lab focused on developing safe and effective gene therapies for ALS/FTD and related disorders. After obtaining a BA in Neuroscience at Columbia, she trained at Penn for her MD/PhD, neurology residency, neuromuscular fellowship, and postdoctoral fellowships before establishing her lab.
Current Lab Members
Dr. McCorkle is a first-year Postdoctoral Associate in the lab. Her research explores how viral delivery of RNA-binding proteins can restore cryptic splicing in ALS-sensitive motor neurons, promote their survival, and improve behavioral deficits. Outside the lab, she enjoys movies with friends.
Taylor McCorkle, PhD
Martin is an MD-PhD student interested in furthering our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and developing novel therapeutics to treat them. His clinical interests lie in neurosurgery. Outside of research and medicine, he enjoys reading fantasy novels, boxing, and sharing food with friends.
Martin Rosenfeld
Sarina is a PhD candidate in Genetics & Epigenetics. She studies a familial form of ALS/FTD caused by an expansion in the C9orf72 gene using mouse and cell models. In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time in nature, and engaging in rare disease advocacy.
Sarina Smith
Kate joined the Amado Lab in 2021 and earned a Master's in Biotechnology from Temple University in 2023. She focuses on testing targeted therapies for ALS using human motor neuron and mouse models. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, reading, and spending time with friends.
Katherine Whiteman, MS
Prior Trainees and Lab Members
Abigail Dichter
Alicia Smith
Aleksandar Izda
Peyton Coleman
Gregory Boyek
Guillem Chillon Bosch
Jacob Krassin
Joshua Fuller
Nick Patty
Renee Amado