The FPN Emerging Investigators Program

Chris Cashman, MD, PhD is a neurologist and researcher who studies why the longest nerves in the body are often damaged first. He earned both his MD and PhD in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. He now works at Mass General Brigham and teaches at Harvard Medical School. 

He also cares for patients with inherited and unknown types of neuropathy and helps lead a clinic for genetic nerve conditions. His research focuses on how aging and damage to mitochondria, the parts of cells that make energy, can lead to nerve damage. 

Ariel Zhang, PhD is a researcher who studies how chemotherapy can damage nerves. She earned her PhD from Rowan University and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. In 2026, she was awarded the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy’s Clinical Research Training Scholarship (CRTS). 

Her research focuses on a protein called ATF2 and how it causes nerve damage during chemotherapy. She is studying how this protein works and whether blocking it can reduce nerve injury.  

Tiffany Li, PhD is a researcher who studies nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. She earned her PhD from the University of Sydney and also has a master’s degree in biostatistics from Macquarie University. In 2025, she received the Clinical Research Training Scholarship to support her work. Her research focuses on finding early warning signs of nerve damage so doctors can act sooner. 

Francesco Michelassi, MD, PhD is a doctor and researcher who studies nerve damage. He earned both his MD and PhD from Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences and is a physician and Lead Scientist at the University of Virginia Health. His research focuses on preventing nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. He is studying how a protein called PGC1α may help protect nerve cells from harm. You can watch a video update from Dr. Michelassi here. 

Erika Williams, MD, PhD is a doctor and researcher who studies the nervous system. She earned both her MD and PhD from Harvard University and is now a neuromuscular fellow at Massachusetts General Brigham. In 2023, she was one of the two first recipients of the Clinical Research Training Scholarship (CRTS). Her research focuses on the autonomic nervous system, which controls important body functions like heart rate and digestion. 

Paula Barreras, MD is a doctor and researcher who studies how the immune system affects the nerves. She earned her medical degree from Universidad de los Andes and is now a neuroimmunology fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 2023, she was one of the first two recipients of the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy’s Clinical Research Training Scholarship. Her research looks at how inflammation from diseases like sarcoidosis can cause nerve damage and pain.