UCL Research Team

Professor Pietro Fratta

Consultant Neurologist & Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, UCL

Dr Carlo Rinaldi

Carlo Rinaldi completed his medical education and residency in adult neurology in 2010 both with distinction at the University of Federico II, Naples, Italy. In 2009 he joined the Neurogenetics Branch at the National Institute of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA) under the supervision of prof. Fischbeck, to work on the mechanisms of pathogenesis of spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA or Kennedy’s disease) and other genetic diseases of the motor unit and where he also obtained a PhD in Neuroscience with the thesis entitled: ‘From Disease Gene Identification to Therapeutic Targets in Neuromuscular Diseases’. In 2015 he joined the lab of Prof. Matthew Wood at the University of Oxford as a Clinical Research Fellow and in December 2016 was awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship, followed by a UKRI MRC Senior Clinical Fellowship in 2023 to establish his independent research lab (https://www.rinaldi-lab.com/). He is an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and Principal Investigator in the recently established Oxford-Muscular Dystrophy UK Centre for Translational Neuromuscular Science Centre.

Dr Dipa Jayaseelan

Consultant Neurologist, UCL

Luca Zampedri

Clinical Research Nurse & Honorary Clinical Nurse Specialist, UCL

Dr Louie Lee

Dr Louie Lee is a clinical academic, with expertise in neurological physiotherapy, implementation science, and mixed methods research. He specialises in neuromuscular diseases, focusing on neuro-rehabilitation, clinical evaluation, and adaptive behaviour change. He has worked at the UCL Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases since 2016, where he was awarded a PhD in neurosciences for his thesis entitled “From perspectives to practice: exploring self-management support for people living with neuromuscular conditions”. Alongside his clinical and research activities, his work has spurred several public engagement initiatives, created in collaboration with multi-disciplinary artists and individuals with lived experience of neuromuscular disorders. In July 2023, Louie joined the National Kennedy’s Disease Clinic at UCL, where he is funded by KDUK to provide clinical support to patients attending the clinic and lead on physiotherapy research initiatives.