Dr. Robert Bucelli, Ph.D., M.D.

Dr. Bucelli has been a practicing neurologist since 2011. He is a Professor of Neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

After graduating summa cum laude from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York with a degree in biology, Dr. Bucelli went on to receive his medical degree and PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program. He then completed an internship in internal medicine and postgraduate residency in neurology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Washington University School of Medicine, followed by a postgraduate Clinical Fellowship Training Program in the Department of Neurology’s Neuromuscular Section, also at Barnes-Jewish and Washington University. He is also a graduate of the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital Academic Medical Leadership Program for Physicians and Scientists.

Dr. Bucelli is an expert in diagnosing and treating neuromuscular disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He also reads and interprets muscle and nerve biopsies to aid in the diagnostic evaluations of patients seen at Washington University and many additional outside institutions. Dr. Bucelli’s clinical expertise guides exemplary multidisciplinary ALS care in the neuromuscular clinic. His skill in delivering drugs to the fluid surrounding the spinal cord has enabled Dr. Bucelli’s and Washington University’s leadership in trials using antisense oligonucleotides to turn off the production of harmful genes that cause ALS.

Dr. Bucelli has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and clinical work at Washington University. He is a five-time recipient of the Eliasson Award for Teaching Excellence and has authored over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is a frequently invited guest lecturer and presenter at regional and national conferences.

After Mitchell Herndon transitioned from pediatric care at St. Louis Children’s Hospital (under the care of Dr. Soe Mar), Dr. Bucelli became his adult neurologist. In addition to caring and advocating for Mitchell in the final year of his life, Dr. Bucelli has remained an invaluable resource to the Foundation as we work to expand our understanding of AXOX1 gain-of-function, and network with other experts and researchers.

Dr. Tiphanie Vogel, Ph.D., M.D.

Dr. Vogel is a native of Southern California, where she played college basketball at Claremont McKenna College. During her graduate studies in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Chicago she worked on the development of CD8 T cell memory. She subsequently completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Vogel temporarily left Houston to complete her fellowships in both pediatric and adult rheumatology at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was an instrumental part of the discovery of a new genetic cause of autoimmunity, STAT3 gain-of-function syndrome. Dr. Vogel returned to Baylor College of Medicine as faculty to help smooth the transition of pediatric rheumatology patients into adult rheumatology clinic and to continue to develop a basic science research program seeking to advance the understanding of and treatments for autoimmune diseases. Dr. Vogel is passionate about the health of her patients! She believes superior care results when the medical team works together with patients and their families to form individualized treatment plans based on cutting-edge medical knowledge and patient-focused goals. Dr. Vogel lives in Houston with her husband, Dr. Adam Vogel (Pediatric Surgery), and their labrador retrievers.

Dr. Vogel has interest and expertise in all aspects of pediatric and adult autoimmune and immune dysregulatory conditions. She has a special clinical interest in helping patients with childhood-onset rheumatologic conditions prepare for and make the transition into either her own or another adult rheumatology clinic.

Dr. Vogel’s laboratory focuses on several key missions: determination of novel genetic causes of autoimmune and immune dysregulatory disorders, investigation of unique biomarkers and therapeutic targets in pediatric autoimmunity and advancement of the understanding of cytokine signals in health and in autoimmune disease.

Dr. Vogel has been involved with Mitchell Syndrome since she saw Mitchell Herndon as a patient during her rheumatology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in 2013. She continued to follow his journey, vowing that “one day I will figure this out.” Through her work with the Undiagnosed Diseases Network at Baylor University, she did indeed help to “figure this out,” and remains invested in identifying and advocating for new patients.

Dr. Hugo Bellen, D.V.M, Ph.D.

Hugo Bellen is a Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in the Departments of Molecular and Human Genetics and Neuroscience. Originally from Belgium, Dr. Bellen earned a degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay School of Business at the University of Brussels, a Pre-Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Antwerp and a doctoral degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Ghent. He received his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis and completed postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Gehring at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He was an HHMI Investigator at BCM from 1989-2021 and joined the Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital at its inception in 2011.

One of the world's premier researchers in Drosophila (fruit fly) genetics, Dr. Bellen's group has made major contributions to our understanding of nervous system development, synaptic transmission and mechanisms of neurodgeneration. As the head of the Drosophila Gene Disruption Project, his laboratory has developed numerous sophisticated genetic tools and generated tens of thousands of reagents that have transformed Drosophila biology.

Dr. Bellen's current research focuses on the discovery of new human disease genes and elucidating pathogenic mechanisms of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases using fruit flies in collaborations with human geneticists worldwide. His lab is the home of the Model Organism Screening Center for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network of the National Institutes of Health. In the past few years he has made major strides in solving key problems related to Friedreich ataxia, Alzheimer disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Parkinson disease.

Dr. Bellen has trained 36 graduate students, including 6 MSTP students, and 41 postdoctoral fellows who are successful in careers in academia and industry. Currently, 20 trainees are in the lab, including a mix of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Bellen received the BCM Presidential Award for Excellence in Leadership in Science and Research mentoring in 2018.

Dr. Bellen has organized numerous national and international meetings. He is currently co-organizer of TAGC2020, The Allied Genetics Conference to be held in Washington, DC in 2020. He served as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Cell Biology for 15 years, and is currently serving as a member of the editorial boards of eLife, PLoS Biology, and Genetics. He is the chair of the scientific advisory board of the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center, and is a member of the scientific advisory boards of FlyBase, the NHGRI Alliance of Genome Resources, the Gill Center for Biomolecular Science, and the INADcure Foundation. He was previously on the scientific advisory boards of the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen, Germany, the Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, the KAIST in Daejeon, Korea, and the VIB in Leuven, Belgium.

Dr. Bellen's awards include the George Beadle Award from the Genetics Society of America; the Linda & Jack Gill Distinguished Neuroscience Investigator Award from Indiana University; the Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship from the University of Melbourne; the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of California, Davis; the Michael E. DeBakey, MD, Excellence in Research Award, and the Dean's Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Education from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Bellen served as the Director of the BCM Graduate Program in Developmental Biology for more than 20 years. He is the March of Dimes Professor in Developmental Biology and the Charles Darwin Professor in Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Hyunglok Chung, Ph.D.

Dr. Chung is an accomplished scientist and academic specializing in genetics and neurology. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Genetics at the Department of Neurology at Houston Methodist Research Institute, he also holds the position of Director of the Drosophila functional core at Houston Methodist.

During his Ph.D. studies at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), Dr. Chung focused on investigating the mechanisms of action of the tumor suppressor gene Schip1 within the context of the Hippo signaling pathway. This research likely involved examining the role of Schip1 in regulating cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis, as the Hippo pathway is known to play a crucial role in these processes.

Following his PhD, Dr. Chung pursued postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine. During this time, he shifted his research focus to using the fruit fly (Drosophila) as a model organism to study both rare and common neurological diseases affecting humans. The fruit fly model offers several advantages, including its well-characterized genetic toolkit, short lifespan, and conserved biological pathways, making it a valuable system for studying human diseases.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of genetics and neurology, Dr. Chung was honored as a Warren Alpert Foundation Distinguished Scholar in 2022. This prestigious award highlights his significant achievements and potential for further groundbreaking research.

Dr. Chung's ultimate goal is to advance therapeutic approaches for both rare and common neurodegenerative diseases by leveraging the fruit fly model. By studying the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of these diseases in flies, he aims to identify potential therapeutic targets and develop novel treatment strategies. This work has the potential to open new avenues for understanding and treating neurodegeneration, ultimately benefiting patients with these debilitating conditions.

It was through Dr. Chung’s research at the lab of Dr. Hugo Bellen at Baylor College of Medicine that he first confirmed the existence of Mitchell Syndrome in the fruit fly model. Since then, Dr. Chung has continued supporting The Mitchell and Friends Foundation through research and advocacy, and we are honored to partner with his lab at Houston Methodist.

Dr. Kevin Glinton, Ph.D., M.D.

A native of the Bahamas, Dr. Glinton is a medical geneticist and medical biochemical geneticist at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Glinton graduated from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee with a degree in chemistry before completing his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Southern California. Afterwards, he obtained his medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College before completing his pediatrics residency at the University of Virginia Health System/UVA Children’s Hospital. Dr. Glinton then moved to Houston to complete a clinical residency in medical genetics followed by a fellowship in medical biochemical genetics. He has now transitioned to faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics and attending physician at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor-St. Luke’s Medical Center and Ben-Taub Hospital at Harris Health.

As a chemist and geneticist, Dr. Glinton’s clinical and research interests unsurprisingly center on the diagnosis and treatment of adults and children with inborn errors of metabolism or what are known as biochemical disorders. In particular, Dr. Glinton has investigated the use of untargeted metabolomics analysis in inborn errors of metabolism as this test has the ability to illuminate different or new aspects of these fascinating diseases. Dr. Glinton also maintains an interest in piloting new treatment modalities for inborn errors of metabolism and is currently involved in clinical trials for disorders like glycogen storage disease, propionic acidemia and OTC deficiency.

Dr. Glinton also maintains a strong interest in the diagnosis and management of rare genetic disorders broadly as well as advocating for the rare disease community at large. He currently serves as the Co-Director of the National Organization for Rare Disease (NORD) Center of Excellence at Baylor College of Medicine. In this role, Dr. Glinton works with the NORD leadership and staff along with the other Center directors to develop best practices for improving rare disease care, advancing research and improving knowledge and resource sharing among the Centers nationally.

Dr. Glinton currently serves as the primary metabolic/genetic specialist for several patients with Mitchell syndrome and hopes to continue expanding our knowledge of this disease through ongoing clinical research.