Michael Benatar, MBChB, MS, DPhil

Dr. Benatar is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Miami. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the research studies initiated by ARC, and the site-PI of other studies that ARC participates in. He hails from South Africa, which explains the funny degree behind his name.

Anita Blenke, PA-C, MS, CCRC

Anita is a Physician Assistant who has worked in the Department of Neurology since 2001. She earned her Master of Science in Clinical Medical Science and Physician Assistant degree from Barry University. She has coordinated over 60 research studies in the areas of cytomegalovirus in patients with HIV, uveitis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and dystonia. She is involved in both ALS research, notably the Arimoclomol trial, as well as clinical work in the University of Miami ALS clinic.

Maggy B. De Tullio, BS, MBA

Maggy serves as the project manager of Dr. Benatar’s research studies. Her responsibilities include planning and managing clinical research studies throughout the lifecycle of a trial, feasibility of trial implementation, preparation of prospective sites, coordination of materials for IRB reviews, financial and research reporting, outreach initiatives, and grants management.

Maria Catalina Fernández, MD

Catalina received her medical degree and completed her training in Ophthalmology in her home country Colombia. Since joining the University of Miami, she has become interested in Clinical Research in Neurology. She is currently assisting the IBMPFD research study group under Dr. Benatar’s oversight.

Sumaira Hussain, B.Sc.

Sumaira has a B.Sc. in Neuroscience and Psychology. She has experience in neuro-critical care research and was previously involved in pediatric neurotrauma research in the ICU. She has recently relocated to the Miami area from Toronto, Canada and has joined the team as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Pre-fALS study.

Sara-Claude Michon, B.A.

Sara-Claude is a PhD candidate in Neuroscience (Rush University, Chicago) and recently submitted her dissertation. After several years of conducting pre-clinical (i.e. laboratory) research, her interest in clinical research on neurodegenerative disorders led her to join the ARC team as a Clinical Research Coordinator. She is involved in the coordination of both ALS (CRiALS) and myasthenia gravis (EPITOME) studies.

Daniella Orihuela, B.S.

Daniella has a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree. She has worked previously at the Mailman Center for Pediatrics on obesity and weight management programs. Daniella is planning on attending medical school in the future and is excited to be part of Dr. Benatar’s team to gain more experience in clinical research programs. Daniella joins our group as a work study student helping with various aspects of our projects.

Eliana Reyes, B.A.

Eliana has a B.A. in psychology. She has experience in biobehavioral research and was previously involved in cancer research. Her interest in clinical research, behavior, and the nervous system motivated her to become part of the Department of Neurology. She joins our team as a Study Coordinator for the Pre-fALS study.

Harold Rivner, B.S.

Harold is a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia. Harold volunteered with our research in senataxin mutations and Q-Motor. Utilizing his technical skills, Harold created a database for our group and currently helps us with this database.

Christine Stanislaw, MS

Christine is a certified genetic counselor and has several years of experience working with adult-onset genetic conditions. She provides counseling by telephone for participants in the pre-fALS study.

Julie Steele, RN

Julie is a Registered Nurse with 17 years of clinical research at the University of Miami’s Department of Neurology. She works with several physicians in the department coordinating various neuromuscular research projects.

Alexandra Waltz, MA

Alex has a background in the health sciences field, and also received training in health services administration. She joined the University of Miami in 2006 and initially engaged in oncology research. Her interest in chronic diseases is what drew her to the Department of Neurology to expand her research experience and focus. She coordinates various neuromuscular clinical trials.

Joanne Wuu, ScM

Joanne is our Biostatistician. She plays an important role in the design of our studies, and in the analysis and interpretation of the data. (Joanne is camera-shy).