Isaacs Lab Staff

Albert Isaacs, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
Albert.Isaacs@NationwideChildrens.org 

Albert Isaacs, MD, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He obtained his bachelor of science degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, followed by his medical degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. During residency training in neurosurgery at the University of Calgary, Dr. Isaacs completed graduate studies in neuroscience at both the University of Calgary and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in Nashville. Dr. Isaacs’ extensive background and training across various institutions and countries reflect his unyielding commitment to excellence and dedication to mentoring the next generation of neurosurgeons.

Dr. Isaacs leads an advanced Translational Neurosurgery Lab that's dedicated to tackling significant challenges in neonatal medicine, specifically neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage and perinatal sepsis, which frequently result in post-hemorrhagic or postinfectious hydrocephalus. The lab blends clinical expertise with experimental research to investigate the inflammatory pathways contributing to these neurodevelopmental disorders. State-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques and comprehensive genomic and proteomic analysis tools are employed to deepen the understanding of the disease mechanisms at a molecular level.

Ahmet Yilmaz, PhD
Research Chief Associate
Ahmet.Yilmaz@NationwideChildrens.org 

Ahmet Yilmaz, PhD, received his master's degree and doctorate in animal genetics from The Ohio State University (with Dr. Mike Davis). His graduate work focused on investigating effects of divergent selection and single nucleotide polymorphisms in promoter of insulin-like growth factor I gene in animals. His post-doctoral training in Immunogenetics at Texas A&M (with James Zhu) involved genomics of interleukins, chemokines, and toll-like receptors. After additional training in human genetics at McGill (with William Foulkes), he became the main scientist testing microsatellite instability and promoter hypermethylation in DNA mismatch repair genes for the Ohio-wide OCCPI (Ohio Colorectal Cancer Prevention Initiative) clinical trial at The Ohio state University. His recent research interests include host immune responses against viral infections.

Lauren Schulz, MD
Neurosurgery Resident
Lauren.Schulz@NationwideChildrens.org 

Lauren Schulz, MD, is a fourth-year resident in the Department of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Schulz obtained her bachelor of science in biology from the University of Florida, followed by a master’s degree in medical sciences from the University of South Florida. She then completed her doctorate of medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Schulz plans to pursue a career in academic pediatric neurosurgery post-graduation. Her primary research interest lies in the management of complex hydrocephalus, with special interest in the molecular pathophysiology of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH).  She is currently heading translational efforts in the Isaacs Lab, specifically the development and implementation of a mouse model exploring utility of extracellular vesicles in PHH.

Asma Redwan
Research Associate
Asma.Redwan@NationwideChildrens.org 

Asma Redwan is a research associate in the Isaacs Lab. Her work mainly focuses on developing in vitro and in vivo study models of hydrocephalus. She recently finished her doctorate project on “The role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in reducing pathological skeletal muscle fiber branching in an mdx mouse model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy” under the supervision of Professor Stewart Head and Professor John Morley at Western Sydney University, Australia. Asma achieved her master’s degree in biochemistry with a focus on the molecular biology of stem cells from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. She completed her master’s thesis, “Analysis of Ldb1 function during muscle regeneration,” under Dr. Alessandro Magli’s supervision at the University of Minnesota.

Thirusivapragasam Subramaniam, MD
Research Associate
Thirusivapragasam.Subramaniam@NationwideChildrens.org 

Thirusivapragasam Subramaniam, MD, also known as Siva Subramaniam, is joining as a research associate under Dr. Albert Isaacs. Dr. Subramaniam is a physician and medical lecturer from the UK, with experience as a researcher and visiting project scientist in Pediatric Neurosurgery at UCLA, followed by his recent role at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He brings a deep commitment to medical innovation, including his invention of a "Non-Obstructive Cerebral Shunt," which he continues to develop and refine. Dr. Subramaniam is also the founder and CEO of the Subramaniam Foundation for Global Brain Health and recently had the honor of speaking at the United Nations about his foundation's work. He has collaborated with both the WHO and Mother Teresa Hospitals on various healthcare initiatives. In his free time, Dr. Subramaniam enjoys exercising, reading, meditating, painting and sculpting.

Gary Schweickart
Bioinformatics Analyst I
Gary.Schweickart@NationwideChildrens.org 

Gary Schweickart is a bioinformatics analyst for the Isaacs Lab. His current work focuses on pediatric hydrocephalus using proteomic and single cell RNA-seq approaches. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University, where he studied mathematics and statistics.

Gregory Larkin
IGM Bioinformatics Analyst I
Gregory.Larkin@NationwideChildrens.org 

Gregory joined the Institute for Genomic Medicine in September 2024 as a bioinformatics analyst for the Isaacs Lab. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Miami University and his master’s degree in bioinformatics from Johns Hopkins University. Gregory's research focuses on analyzing proteomics datasets to identify shared mechanisms and pathways in post-hemorrhagic (PHH) and post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH). He is also interested in applying network biology to these conditions. He regularly utilizes R and Python for bioinformatics analyses and aims to further expand his expertise in these tools for multi-omics analyses.

Diandra Adu-Kyei is a third year medical student at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Diandra graduated from Amherst College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She has long been interested in neurosurgery and has worked on research projects that focused on neurosurgical procedures and regional disparities regarding access to clinical stroke care.

Ryan Juncker
Research Student
Ryan.Juncker@NationwideChildrens.org 

Ryan is a first-year medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD program) at The Ohio State University College of Medicine rotating in the Isaacs Lab. Prior to attending OSU, Ryan grew up in Northern California. He then moved to Los Angeles to complete his undergraduate education at UCLA, where he graduated magna cum laude. Ryan aspires to become a neurosurgeon-scientist after completion of his medical and graduate training. In his free time, Ryan enjoys exercising, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family.