Bradbury Lab Staff

Allison M. Bradbury, MS, PhD
Principal Investigator
Allison.Bradbury@NationwideChildrens.org

Allison M. Bradbury, MS, PhD is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and a Principal Investigator II in the Jerry R. Mendell Center for Gene Therapy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute. Dr. Bradbury earned her doctorate in biomedical sciences from Auburn University with her doctoral research focused on development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy for the GM2 gangliosidoses (Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases), which is currently in human clinical trials. Her postdoctoral research was performed at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was awarded a NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and K99/R00 Pathway to Independence. During this time Dr. Bradbury evaluated disease mechanisms and developed gene therapy approaches for globoid cell leukodystrophy, also known as Krabbe disease. She joined the Mendell Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in January 2020.

Nettie Pyne, MA
Project Manager
Nettie.Pyne@NationwideChildrens.org

Nettie Pyne, MA, is a project manager and safety coach in the in the Jerry R. Mendell Center for Gene Therapy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, with over a decade of post-graduate experience in molecular biology, virology and gene therapy. Ms. Pyne earned her master's degree in molecular biology from Princeton University studying protein-protein interactions with a split GFP reporter. She began working in the Center for Gene Therapy in 2014 in Dr. Scott Harper's Lab working on therapies for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. She then spent two years working in industry for Battelle Memorial Institute producing vaccine candidate viruses, before finally returning to the CGT to work for Dr. Bradbury in February of 2021. Functioning as the lab manager and safety officer, she aids in manuscript and grant writing, project oversight and troubleshooting, molecular biology assays, budgeting, ordering and more. Her hobbies include game mastering Dungeons and Dragons, 3D printing and painting miniatures, hiking, snuggling her cats Watson and George and volunteering at local libraries with her therapy dog Bolin.

Sergiy Chornyy, PhD
Research Scientist and Head of the Microscopy Core

Sergiy Chornyy, PhD, is a neurobiologist, molecular biologist and microscopist with over 20 years of experience in advanced imaging, neuroscience and preclinical gene therapy. He serves as a part-time Senior Research Scientist in the Bradbury Lab, Center for Gene Therapy, at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI), where he supports and leads studies on neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. In parallel, he holds a part-time appointment as Microscopy Core Director at AWRI, overseeing and advancing imaging-intensive research across multiple institutional programs.

Dr. Chornyy’s expertise focuses on advanced optical imaging, including laser-scanning confocal and multiphoton microscopy, longitudinal in vivo imaging through cranial windows and quantitative image analysis. He has extensive hands-on experience with rodent surgeries, stereotaxic procedures and real-time imaging of neuronal and glial dynamics in live animal models. His work integrates high-resolution imaging with molecular and biochemical approaches.

At Nationwide Children's, Dr. Chornyy has contributed to multiple AAV-mediated gene therapy programs spanning epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders, leukodystrophies, Krabbe disease, TBCD-related neurodegeneration, ATR-X syndrome and Neurofibromatosis Type I. He earned his PhD in biology/biochemistry from the Palladin Institute of Biochemistry (Ukraine), completed postdoctoral training in Ukraine, Israel and the United States, and has co-authored 17 peer-reviewed publications, including multiple first-author papers.

Devi Jaganathan, PhD
Research Scientist

Abigail Hetterscheidt
Research Associate

Abby Hetterscheidt is a research associate in the Jerry R. Mendell Center for Gene Therapy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute, with several years of experience in rodent colony management, rodent behavioral assays and behavioral assay analysis. Abby earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience (cognitive and behavioral track) from Ohio Wesleyan University where she worked with Dr. Chelsea Vadnie on the effects of stress on adolescent mice in adulthood. After graduation, she began working at the Ohio State University in Dr. Benedetta Leuner’s lab where they studied the impact of hormonal contraceptives in adolescence on the neuroimmune environment in female rats. In September of 2023, Abby began working for Dr. Bradbury in her lab. She manages the lab’s mouse colonies, performs necropsies and behavioral assays, assists in animal surgeries and supports a variety of additional research activities. Outside of lab, Abby’s enjoys painting, baking, playing video games and cuddling her two labrador retrievers, Annie and Penny.

Jessica Herstine
Graduate Student

Jessica A. Herstine earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular genetics with a minor in neuroscience from The Ohio State University (OSU) in 2020. That same year, Jessica entered the doctoral program in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) at OSU, where she joined the laboratory of Dr. Bradbury in the Center for Gene Therapy. Ms. Herstine is now a PhD candidate and NINDS D-SPAN Fellow who has received both internal (TL1/T32 from OSU’s CTSI / NCATS) and NIH funding to investigate gene replacement therapy for Vanishing White Matter Disease (VWM), a rare genetic leukodystrophy. She is deeply passionate about unraveling the intricacies of neurological disorders, such as VWM, and strives to address them using state-of-the-art therapeutic techniques, including gene replacement, editing and knockdown. In her free time, Jessica loves going on outdoor adventures which includes camping and fishing in the secluded foothills of Appalachia. Overall, Ms. Herstine aspires to have a fulfilling academic career as a professor and principal investigator, where she can contribute to training the next generation of scientists.

Caleb Holaway
Graduate Student

Caleb Holaway is a PhD candidate in the Bradbury lab. Caleb's dissertation work is centered on a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) which predisposes children to tumor development in the central and peripheral nervous system. Caleb's thesis work uses adeno-associated virus (AAV) to restore the catalytic activities of the NF1 protein product in the nervous system to combat tumor development. In addition to his thesis work, Caleb is committed to fostering community amongst graduate students and advocating for trainee interests through his role of president of the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Student Organization at The Ohio State University. Caleb aspires to be an independent scientist one day and has received support for his thesis work in the form of a University Fellowship through the Graduate School at The Ohio State University and more recently a Graduate Research Development Award through the Office of Trainee Affairs at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Outside of lab, Caleb loves to play piano for his cat, Ava.

Jack Seminetta
Graduate Student

Pipasha Biswas
Graduate Student

Pipasha Biswas is a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University college of medicine, and is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms and key factors that drive early tumor predisposition phenotypes in NF2-SWN disease in order to find potential therapeutic targets. Her work emphasizes the development of patient-derived Schwann cells through fibroblast direct conversion, and utilizes CRISPR editing to develop patient-specific tumor models. These lines allow for the study of pre- and post tumor phenotype homology from the same starting cells, and conversion takes just 9 days. Another benefit is that it does not depend on acquiring samples from leftover surgically removed tumors - a unique niche. Ms. Biswas intends to test diverse types of small molecule drugs as well as gene replacement therapy, utilizing image-based phenotyping and molecular and cellular approaches to link biomarker signaling changes to functional outcomes. She enjoys collaborative, interdisciplinary research and is motivat4ed by translating mechanistic insights into clinically relevant advances for schwannoma tumor biology and therapy.

David Henson
Research Intern

David Henson is a third-year biochemistry undergraduate student at The Ohio Statue University, and originally from Niskayuna, New York. He has been a research intern in the Bradbury Lab since May 2024, where he assists Caleb Holaway in research focused on the development of a gene therapy for Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Julianne Johnson
Research Intern

Jan Kubacek
Undergraduate Intern

Jan joined the Bradbury Lab in August of 2025 as an undergraduate student from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he is studying biochemistry and psychology. His favorite part of the day in the lab is any kind of work with mice, from behavior testing to colony management. In his free time, Mr. Kubacek enjoys watching the Blue Jackets, playing sports or reading a book from time to time. He also enjoys cooking dishes from his home country of Czechia and loves cats!