Associate Professor of Neurology Resume Example

Name: Aristide Merola

Address: 802 N 6th Street, Columbus, OH, 43215, USA

Birthplace: Middletown (PA), USA

Birth date: September 18, 1978

Citizenship: U.S.A. – Italy (dual citizenship)

Clinician-scientist with 100+ peer-reviewed publications and 12 years of experience in Movement Disorders, Clinical Neurophysiology, and Autonomic Disorders. Interest in Gene Therapy, Deep Brain Stimulation, MR-guided Focused Ultrasound, and Autonomic Testing. Active member of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) and Parkinson Study Group (PSG). Strong communication and leadership skills with experience in multidisciplinary collaborations and coordination of a team of 3 Neurologists, 2 Certified Nurse Practitioners, 3 Research Coordinators, and 2 Research Assistants.

Division Chief, Movement Disorders - Associate Professor of Neurology

Clayton C. Wagner Endowed Professor in Parkinson's Disease at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Department of Neurology

Assistant: Robert J. Arkoh - robertjunior.arkoh@osumc.edu

Email: Aristide.Merola@osumc.edu

Visiting Professor, University of Torino, Italy - Academic year 2021/2022 - Course title: Innovative and Experimental Therapies in Movement Disorders

• Member of the Ohio State University (OSU) Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
• Member of the Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation (CMEI) at The Ohio State University
• Member of the Ohio State University Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

• Member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee - Department of Neurology, OSU
• Member of the Grand Round Committee - Department of Neurology, OSU
• Member of the Executive Committee - Department of Neurology, OSU
• Member of the Education & Mentorship Committee - Neuroscience Research Institute, OSU
• Member of the Clinical Operations Committee – Department of Neurology, OSU

• Associate Director, Movement Disorders Fellowship Program
• Preceptor for Bioengineering Course (BE4194) - The Ohio State University

• Ohio State Medical Board License (Certificate of Conceded Eminence – 75.000022 Active)
• National Provider Identifier (NPI) # 1902265077 (Permanent)
• Italian Permanent Medical License – 2005 #20456 (Permanent)

2015 – present American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

2014 – present Movement Disorders Society (MDS)

2016 – present Parkinson Study Group (PSG)

2010 – present Societa' Italiana di Neurologia (SIN)

2011 – present Societa' Italiana di Neurofisiologia Clinica (SINC)

2012 – present Lega Italiana Malattia di Parkinson (LIMPE)

2020 – present Co-Chair, Tremor Study Group – MDS

2019 – present Co-Chair, Motor Features of PD Working Group – PSG

2020 – present Member, Task Force on Early Onset Parkinson' disease – MDS

2019 – present Member, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Study Group – MDS

2018 – present Member, Task Force on Technology in Parkinson's disease – MDS

2019 - present Member, Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America (ISSNAF)

2019 - present Chief Editor, Frontiers in Neurology – Experimental Therapeutics

2019 Guest Editor, Frontiers in Neurology – Innovative Technologies and Clinical Applications for Invasive and Non-invasive Neuromodulation: From the Workbench to the Bedside

2018 Guest Editor, Frontiers in Neurology – Behavioral and Emotional Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease

Annals of Neurology

Neurology

Movement Disorders

Movement Disorders Clinical Practice

Parkinsonism and Related Disorders

Nature Digital Medicine

Frontiers in Neurology

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

PLOS One

European Journal of Neurology

European Neurology

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

Journal of Parkinson Disease

CCTS TL1 Mentored Career Development Grant Study Section 2021

• Open-Label Safety Study of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene Transfer (AAV2-GDNF) In Multiple System Atrophy

Sponsor: Ask Bio (Site PI – Merola)

The objective of this study is to determine the safety of AAV2-GDNF delivered to the putamen in subjects with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)

• Adeno-Associated Virus Encoding Human Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor for Gene Transfer in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

Sponsor: Ask Bio (Co-I – Merola)

This study aims to evaluate safety and preliminary efficacy of Adeno-Associated Virus gene therapy encoding for GDNF delivered to the putamen in patients with early and more advanced Parkinson disease.

• Differential effect of oral vs. intestinal L-dopa on Parkinson disease-associated gait and balance impairment in an ecologically valid (home-like based) setting

Investigator-Initiated Study (10/2021 – 10/2021): $167,988 (PI – Merola)

Sponsor: Abbvie

This study aims to analyze the extent to which continuous dopaminergic stimulation may improve gait and balance of PD patients in a real-life setting using wearable technologies and computerized gait analysis.

• Vercise™ DBS Registry (A4069): Registry of Deep Brain Stimulation with the VERCISE™ System

Sponsor: Boston Scientific (Site PI – Merola)

This monitored, prospective, multi-center, non-randomized, open-label interventional trial aims to evaluate Deep Brain Stimulation with a new multiple-source, constant-current rechargeable system (Vercise™ DBS).

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Double-Dummy, Active-Controlled Study Comparing the Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of ABBV-951 to Oral Carbidopa/Levodopa in Advanced Parkinson's Disease Patients

Sponsor: Abbvie (Site PI – Merola)

The purpose of this study is to find out how well ABBV-951 works to control Parkinson's disease symptoms compared to oral Carbidopa/Levodopa.

Sponsor: Abbvie (Site PI – Merola)

The purpose of this study is to find out how well ABBV-951 works to control Parkinson's disease symptoms compared to oral Carbidopa/Levodopa.

• Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Parkinson's Disease

KL2 TR001426 (05/2017 - 04/2019): $314,000 (PI – Merola)

Sponsor: NIH

The goal of this study is to determine the feasibility and tolerability of a beat-to-beat continuous BP monitoring (cNIBP) device and a wearable motion sensor (WMS) to (1) monitor orthostatic hypotension (OH) and (2) determine the extent to which OH and associated postural instability may be effectivbely captured by a combined WMS-cNIBP device.

• Technology-Based Objective Measures for Gait and Postural Assessment in Parkinson Disease Patients with Orthostatic Hypotension: Feasibility and Effect-Size Finding Study

Investigator-Initiated Study (03/2018 – 03/2019): $74,520 (PI – Merola)

Sponsor: Lundbeck

The goal of this study is to improve the assessment of OH-associated postural stability, both in-clinic and at-home, by means of technology-based objective measures.

• Neurology Week (Online Congress): 14-18 July 2021. “Challenging Cases: Tremor Disorders”
• Arab Health Congress 2021, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai (United Arab Emirates): 15 June 2021. “Advanced Therapies for Parkinson Disease”
• 8th Annual Shaping the Management of Parkinson's Disease: Debating Current Controversies and Discussing Recent Advances (USA): 23 January 2021. “Hope vs. Hype II: Closed Loop Technology Will Provide More Meaningful Improvement vs. Directional Leads In Deep Brain Stimulation – I disagree”
• America Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ASSFN) Mentorship Program Webinar Series Presentation (Virtual): 14 December 2020. “Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders: Evidence Review”
• The 14th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy): 30 October 2020 (Virtual). “Is orthostatic hypotension a major and addressable determinant of falls in Parkinson Disease? YES”
• University of Cincinnati, OH (USA): 15 October 2020. “Gene Therapy for the treatment of Movement Disorders”
• Limpe-Dismov Webinar Series (Italy): 28 September 2020. “Gene Therapy in Parkinson disease”
• Movement Disorder Society Virtual Congress 2020 Symposium: 12 September 2020 (Virtual). “How Technology Can Facilitate the Management of Advancing Parkinson's Disease Patients Amidst COVID-19: Opportunities and Challenges”
• Limpe-Dismov Webinar Series (Italy): 9 September 2020. “Dysautonomia course on cardiovascular dysfunction”
• Bologna (Italy): 50th Meeting of the Italian Neurological Society: 12-15 Oct 2019. Plenary session lecture: “Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonisms”
• Düsseldorf (Germany): German Congress for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders: 7-9 March 2019
• Torino (Italy): Recent acquisitions on Parkinson's Disease phenotyping: 5 February 2019
• Portland, OR (USA): Abbott Infinity DBS System Programming Workshop, 26 January 2019
• Salt Lake City (USA): Neurophysiology in Movement Disorders, 5 November 2019
• Miami (USA): Deep Brain Stimulation Super Users, 19-20 January 2018
• Lexington (USA): Bluegrass Regional Movement Disorder Symposium, 20-21 October 2017
• Baden Baden (Germany): 10. Deutscher Kongress Für Parkinson Und Andere Bewegungs-Störungen: 4-6 May 2017
• Torino (Italy): Giornate Neurologiche Torinesi, April 2016
• Milan (Italy): XXI World Congress on Parkinson's Disease and related Disorders, December 2015
• Santiago (Chile): Update in Diagnostic Tools for Movement Disorders, VII annual meeting of the Centre for Movement Disorders (CETRAM), hosted by Pedro Chaná and Andrés de la Cerda, November 21, 2015 - Movement Disorders Society Ambassador Programs
• Torino (Italy): I Congresso Accademia LIMPE/DISMOV, September 2015
• Cincinnati (USA): Grand Round – Neurophysiology and Ultrasonography for a Movement Disorders Laboratory: practical applications: Apr 2015
• Napoli (Italy): Young in Movement Disorders, V edizione, Videocorso e Controversie, April 2014
• Torino (Italy): Malattia di Parkinson: Corso teorico-pratico sulle terapie della fase avanzata, June 2015
• Berlin (Germany): Medtronic DBS Forum, November 2011

• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation OSU Residency Program: 11 August 2021. “Diagnostic Approach to Movement Disorders”
• Understanding the Disease Quarterly Educational Program for patients and caregivers living with Parkinson: 17 July 2021. “Updates on Research”
• Adena Regional Medical Center (OH) - Grand Round: 24 May 2021. “Autonomic Disorders”
• Licking Memorial Hospital (OH) – Grand Round: 12 April 2021. “Autonomic Dysfunction in Parkinson Disease and other Movement Disorders”
• Understanding the Disease Quarterly Educational Program for patients and caregivers living with Parkinson: 10 April 2021. “Advanced Therapies for Parkinson Disease”
• Licking Memorial Hospital (OH) – Grand Round: 1 March 2021. “Current Topics in Parkinson Disease”
• Neurobiology of Disease (7050) OSU Graduate Course: 18 February 2021. “Neurobiology of Disease: Parkinson”
• Understanding the Disease Quarterly Educational Program for patients and caregivers living with Parkinson: 16 January 2021. “Introduction to the Series”
• Parkinson Foundation: 11 Dec 2020. “Therapeutic Options for Early Stage and Advancing Parkinson Disease”

2021 – present Mentor of Anna Tsai and Kelsey McDonald, undergraduate students at OSU. Anna and Kelsey's are working on a Natural History Movement Disorder registry aiming at evaluating changes in motor and non-motor features associated with disease progression using technology-based objective measures of gait, balance, bradykinesia, and tremor.

2020 – present Mentor of Gurleen Vilkhu and Jacob Miller, who joined the movement disorders lab as Bioengineer students and then decided to take a position of Clinical Research Associate (CRA). Their work has focused on the integration of advanced neuroimaging tools for visualization of brain structures stimulated by Deep Brain Stimulation electrodes according to the individual patients' anatomy using tools such as BrainLab and Surgical Information Science. Their work is currently under preparation for publication.

2021 – present Mentor of Robert Kassinger, MD (Neurology resident at OSU) on a project aiming to analyze with whole exome sequencing and report novel mutations in a case of familiar (two sisters) neurologic disorder characterized by vermian hypoplasia, ataxia, nystagmus, pontine divergence insufficiency, and mild to moderate intellectual disability, with an arrest of cerebral myelination resembling the pattern of a 4-month-old infant. The DNA of these patients is under analysis. Results will likely result in a clinical publication.

2019 – 2021 Mentor of Noelle Kobayashi, medical student at OSU, on a systematic review of gene therapy trials in movement disorders. The work has been successfully completed and published (PubMed PMID: 33889127)

2019 – 2021 Mentor of Francesco Sammartino, MD (Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery) on a project aiming at evaluating the extension of Deep Brain Stimulation Volume of Tissue Activate and its effect on anatomical brain structures, as defined by probabilistic tractography. This project has been completed and presented at scientific meetings.

2018 – 2020 Mentor of Abhimanyu Mahajan, MD (Clinical Fellow in Neurology) on a project aiming at evaluating the surgical accuracy of Deep Brain Stimulation electrodes in the Vim nucleus to identify determinant of errors in asleep procedures performed without intraoperative testing. The work has been successfully published (PubMed PMID: 32247245).

2018 – 2020 Mentor of Andrea Sturchio, MD (Research Scholar in Neurology) on a project aiming at evaluating the accuracy of wearable technology-based objective measures in capturing the risk of falls and postural instability in patients with PD-associated orthostatic hypotension. The project has been successfully completed and published (PubMed PMID: 32979099).

2018 – 2019 Mentor of Joaquin Vizcarra, MD (Research Scholar in Neurology) on a meta-analysis project aiming at evaluating the individual and combined efficacy of levodopa and Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson disease. The project has been successfully completed and published (PubMed PMID: 29909467).

2017 – 2019 Mentor of Luca Marsili, MD (Instructor in Neurology) on a project aiming at creating a precision-medicine inspired data repository at the University of Cincinnati. This project laid the foundation for a large Biomarker Initiative called the: “Cincinnati Cohort Biomarker Program” https://ccbpstudy.com/

Summer 2017 Mentor of Carlo Alberto Artusi, MD (Visiting Research Scholar at the University of Cincinnati) on a project aiming at evaluating adoption of technology-based objective measure in clinical trials for neurodegenerative disorders. The project resulted in a publication (PMCID: PMC7924909)

2017 – 2018 Mentor of Tamour Tareen, MD (Applicant Resident in Neurology) on a project aiming at evaluating the prevalence and severity of negative affective symptoms following deep brain stimulation. The project was successfully completed and published (PMID: 29801902)

2014 – 2019 Mentor of Alberto Romagnolo, Fabrizio Vallelonga, and Gabriele Sobrero, MDs (University of Torino) on several projects aiming at evaluating the impact of autonomic neuropathy in Parkinson disease and the accuracy of 24-h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in capturing signs of cardiovascular dysautonomia as compared to formal autonomic testing. This line of research has resulted in several publications (see Bibliography section) and grant applications (KL2 TR001426).

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• Participation at the literature examination and writing of the “Italian Guidelines of Parkinson's disease diagnosis and treatment (2014)”
• Merola A. Brainstem Syndromes (Sindromi del Tronco Encefalico) In: Edizioni Cortina, Torino, Italy (ed.). La Neurologia di Bergamini.: Ch 6 (pp 103-109)
• Merola A. Cranial Nerves (Nervi Cranici) In: Edizioni Cortina, Torino, Italy (ed.). La Neurologia di Bergamini.: Ch 7 (pp 111-146)
• Merola A. Pathophysiology of the Autonomic Nervous System (Fisiopatologia del Sistema Nervoso Autonomo) In: Edizioni Cortina, Torino, Italy (ed.). La Neurologia di Bergamini.: Ch 9 (pp 155-172)