Our Team
Alyson Fiorillo, PhD
Assistant Professor
Alyson Fiorillo is an Assistant Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine within the Center for Inherited Myology Research (CIMR) within the Department of Neurology. With an extensive background in molecular biology and genetics, her research focuses on understanding and treating muscular dystrophies, particularly Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, through innovative approaches such as genetic therapies and microRNA regulation.
Right before Dr. Fiorillo started grad school, she volunteered at a Muscular Dystrophy Association Camp where she worked with hundreds of kids with muscular dystrophies and other neuromuscular disorders. This experience changed her life and drove her career trajectory towards the goal of researching viable therapeutics to improve the lives of kids with muscle diseases
Dr. Fiorillo earned her PhD in Biomedical Science from Northwestern University, where she was a Department of Defense Pre-doctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Charles V. Clevenger. She went on to complete a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in the Genetics and Genomics of Muscle Disease at Children’s Research Institute under Dr. Eric P. Hoffman, where she studied the role of dystrophin-targeting miRNAs in muscular dystrophies.
In her early career, Dr. Fiorillo obtained a B.S. in Chemistry, magna cum laude, from Marist College, where she also distinguished herself as a Division I athlete and Merck Undergraduate Research Fellow.
Dr. Fiorillo's research has been funded by foundations such as the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, as well as the Department of Defense and through collaborative research agreements with industry partners.
She has been invited to deliver numerous lectures and oral presentations at international scientific conferences focused on muscular dystrophies and muscle pathophysiology. Her recent contributions include the generation and characterization of a novel Becker Muscular Dystrophy mouse model, and showing proof-of-principal that genetic deletion of miR-146a-5p improves dystrophin restoration after exon skipping in DMD model mice. In addition to her research, Dr. Fiorillo holds several patents and patent applications related to therapeutic approaches for muscular dystrophies.
As a mentor and educator, Dr. Fiorillo has guided graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate researchers. She has taught courses in ethics, grant writing, muscle health and disease. She has also served as an ad hoc reviewer for NIH, DOD and MDA study sections.
Moving forward, her work, both in the lab and as a mentor seeks to continue to make strides towards personalized therapeutics for muscular dystrophies and in understanding the molecular etiology of these diseases.
​
Emily Ortiz Nazario, M.S.
Laboratory technician/Neurobiologist/Artist/Boricua and Dog mom
Emily is a laboratory technician with a Master’s degree in neurobiology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. Her previous research focused on the role of angiotensin receptors and microglia in the brain of PTSD animal models. She is passionate about neuroscience and have a growing interest in the neuromuscular field. Currently, she is working on examining protein and gene expression in several neuromuscular disorders that include Becker and Duchenne muscular dystrophies. Emily is originally from Mayaguez, P.R. and recently moved to Richmond, VA. When she’s not working at the lab bench, you’ll find her enjoying a good cup of tea, reading, painting, meditating or hiking somewhere in the mountains. She is also a proud dog mom to a Boricua Husky named Loki.
Sarah Woods
Lab Technician, student, cat parent whose scientific and medical interests range from Histology, Forensics, and Research/Translational Medicine to Computer Science and Ancient Civilizations. Excels at taking things apart and putting things together from troubleshooting small differences in results over SOP's to initiating functional updates. When not staining tissue or working with data she has her nose in a book weighed down by cats or napping. Down the line she is working towards a career in Forensic Pathology and will probably enjoy field work a little too much.
​
Kenzey Beshai, B.S.
Kenzey Beshai is a research volunteer and aspiring dentist with a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Passionate about advancing her education, she is preparing to apply to dental school to combine her love of science, service, and art. Kenzey recently joined the lab team, where she is focused on histology, specifically analyzing tissue samples to better understand the underlying mechanisms of muscular dystrophy. Outside the lab, Kenzey is passionate about traveling, especially to her home country, Egypt, where she reconnects with her heritage and draws inspiration from its rich history and culture.
​
Christopher Heier, PhD
Assistant Professor, Collaborator
For the past 9 years, Drs. Fiorillo and Heier have collaborated on multiple projects related to microRNAs, muscular dystrophy, mouse models and therapies. Their collaborations have already produced 12 peer-reviewed research articles, including exciting recent manuscripts on creating the first mouse model of Becker Muscular Dystrophy (Heier et al. 2023), preclinical efficacy of vamorolone in BMD model mice (McCormack et al. 2023), and on the effects of steroids on chronic inflammatory miRNAs in dystrophic mdx mice (Fiorillo et al. 2018). They also have two provisional patent applications: PCT/US2019/035264 and PCT/US2023/014861 for work on inflammatory miRNAs and the creation of a BMD mouse model, respectively.