Lab Members

Thomas J. Schnitzer, MD, PhD, is a professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine/Rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Schnitzer is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and has trained at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, the MRC Rheumatism Unit in Taplow, England and at the Imperial Cancer Research Institute in London, England.

His work focuses in chronic musculoskeletal pain and the development of new therapeutic approaches to its management. His work has been supported by numerous federal research grants, and he has also worked closely with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Amanda Mertens, APRN, is a nurse practitioner in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Since November 2021, she has played a key role as a sub-investigator for multiple pharmaceutical drug trials and PI-initiated trials, focusing on clinical data collection for various conditions including osteoarthritis, diabetic neuropathy, lumbar pain, obesity and spinal cord injury.

Amanda is responsible for advanced patient assessments, diagnoses, patient monitoring and the administration of investigational drugs according to study protocols.

Narina Simonian, BS, CCRC is a Clinical Operations Manager in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Since January 2023, she has overseen the performance of over 10 clinical trials, including industry-sponsored and federally funded studies. With a specialization in bone health and spinal cord injury, she ensures that all trials are conducted in strict accordance with FDA, GCP and ICH guidelines, as well as applicable institutional policies and regulations.

Leila Bagherzadeh, MD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

She is in charge of clinical trials evaluating new treatments for painful diabetic neuropathy, sees patients, performs data collection, presents at conferences and prepares manuscripts for publication.

Santiago Espinosa-Salas is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Espinosa-Salas is responsible for overseeing clinical trials on weight loss, developing recruitment strategies, data collection and preparing manuscripts for publication.

After growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Rishav Banerjee studied Biochemistry and English at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

He currently works on clinical trials evaluating Retatrutide for weight loss in patients with diabetes. In his spare time, he enjoys going to concerts and spending time with his dog.

Originally from Naperville, Ashwin Narayanan completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Alabama.

Currently between the third and fourth years of medical school at Rosalind Franklin University, he is dedicating a year to research before continuing with his medical career.

Born and raised in Chicago, Isela Ortiz joined our group after completing her BA in Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

She coordinates our lab's public relations and recruitment campaigns. In her spare time, she enjoys playing golf, reading and spending time with her loved ones.