Saad Lab Staff
Nizar Y. Saad, MSc, PhD
Principal Investigator
Nizar.Saad@NationwideChildrens.org
Nizar Saad, MSc, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Jerry R. Mendell Center for Gene Therapy and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Saad's expertise is in RNA biology, gene therapy and their respective translational applications. His research interests are understanding the pathobiology of neuromuscular disorders, the discovery of circulating exosome-based biomarkers and the development of viral and non-viral based gene therapies towards these disorders and other rare genetic diseases (i.e., progeria). Dr. Saad’s growing international reputation is demonstrated by his service on the New Investigator, Musculo-Skeletal Gene & Cell Therapy and Oligonucleotide and RNAi Therapeutics committees of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
Ane Nishitha Vijayan, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Ane.Vijayan@NationwideChildrens.org
Ane joined the Saad Lab in September 2026. Her research focuses on extracellular vesicle-associated AAVs (EV-AAVs) and their potential therapeutic applications in neuromuscular diseases. She is especially interested in understanding the biology of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and exploring ways to engineer them for targeted delivery. Prior to joining the Saad Lab, Ane was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where she studied EVs derived from plasma and skeletal muscle mononuclear cells, with a focus on their role in disuse recovery. Outside the lab, Ane enjoys playing badminton and traveling.
Jackson Newell
Research Associate
Jackson.Newell@NationwideChildrens.org
Jackson Newell joined the Saad Lab in July 2024 after earning his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Kenyon College. At Kenyon, Jackson discovered his passion for research while studying the genetic basis of reproduction in the moss Physcomitrium patens. Now, driven by his own medical history and a fascination with genetics, he is interested in supporting the development of gene therapies for the treatment of rare genetic diseases. When not in the lab or studying, Jackson enjoys playing his guitar or banjo and going on hikes.
Rachael Arthur
Administrative Assistant III
Rachael.Arthur@NationwideChildrens.org
Rachael joined Nationwide Children’s in 2022 after working for 12 years in the retail pharmacy industry. In her free time, she likes to take hikes with her dog, Cooper, attend concerts, and tackle different projects and crafts.
Former lab members have continued their training and careers at a variety of institutions. Positions listed reflect where they went after leaving the lab and may have since changed.
- Bilal Bayazit, PhD: 2023-2025, Postdoctoral position at Roskilde University in Denmark
- Neel Lachhwani: 2022-2024 – medical school at Wayne State University