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Director and Staff

Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.

Director

Throughout her career, Dr. Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan, has made it her mission to use scientific discoveries to understand and cure human diseases.

In January 2008, Dr. Feldman was named the first Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, which was created to support fundamental research into a wide range of human diseases. Under her leadership, the Taubman Institute funds senior-level scientists in a diverse spectrum of diseases – adult and childhood cancer, ALS, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hearing loss.

In her own work, Dr. Feldman is on the forefront of applying stem cell research to human disease. Most notably she is the Principal Investigator of the first clinical trial of intraspinal transplantation of stem cells in patients with ALS.

In addition to running an active clinical practice at the University of Michigan, Dr. Feldman directs a team of 30 scientists who collaborate to understand and find new treatments for a wide variety of neurological diseases, including ALS, diabetic neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and muscular dystrophies.

She is the author of more than 220 articles, 50 book chapters and 2 books. She is the Principal Investigator of 4 major National Institutes of Health research grants, 3 private foundation grants and 5 clinical trials focused on understanding and treating neurological disorders, with an emphasis on ALS and diabetic neuropathy. She is President of the American Neurological Association and recent Past President of the Peripheral Nerve Society.

Dr. Feldman has received many honors including the Early Distinguished Career Award from the University of Michigan, several scientific achievement awards in the field of diabetes and in May of this year, was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. Additionally, she has been listed in Best Doctors in America for 10 consecutive years.

Among Dr. Feldman’s greatest accomplishments is her training of both scientists and neurologists. Eight scientists have received their Ph.D. degrees under her, she has trained 40 postdoctoral fellows in her laboratory to become neuroscientists, and 36 neurologists have trained under her to specialize in the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular diseases, with an emphasis on ALS.

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Marty Fischhoff, B.A.

Managing Director

Marty Fischhoff came to the University of Michigan Health System in 2008 to oversee administrative, programming, communications and development functions of the Taubman Institute. Prior to that, he was assistant managing editor at The Detroit News, where he worked for 20 years in a wide variety of capacities. He was the editor of Detroit Monthly for five years before that, winning the William White Award as editor of the best city magazine in its circulation class in the nation. He has worked in public relations, marketing, video production and wrote a best-selling guidebook to Detroit. He has participated in many community organizations, serving on the boards of Washtenaw Literacy, the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit and D-PAN (which produces music videos for the deaf community).

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Stacey Sakowski, Ph.D.

Deputy Managing Director

Stacey Sakowski, Ph.D., joined the Taubman Institute as the Deputy Managing Director in 2011.  She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology & Genetics from Wayne State University in 2006, where her graduate research training focused on the biochemical characterization and analysis of post-translational modifications of proteins involved in serotonin biosynthesis.

Dr. Sakowski joined the laboratory of Dr. Eva Feldman at the University of Michigan in 2006 as a postdoctoral research fellow.  She utilized zebrafish models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to understand the mechanisms of motor neuron degeneration and identify points for therapeutic intervention. Dr. Sakowski is the author/co-author of ten manuscripts.

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Colleen Sherman, B.A.

Development Director

Colleen’s responsibilities include providing resources and support for the crucial research of the Taubman scientists as they fight disease. She manages board and donor relations, oversees community outreach and works to enhance the public profile of the Institute.

Colleen spent four years at Detroit Public Television, where she headed board governance and government relations efforts. Colleen has lived in Ann Arbor since 1995 and worked as marketing director for both the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and The Ark. Colleen holds a B.A. from Michigan State University, where she majored in English and Communications while working for the Kresge Art Museum and Impact Radio. She has served on the board of directors for Washtenaw Literacy and the Ann Arbor Ad Club and has worked with the University of Michigan’s Lloyd Hall Scholars program.

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Melissa Preddy, B.A., M.A.

Communications Director

Melissa Preddy joined the Taubman Institute in 2011 as Communications Director.  A veteran editor and writer, she worked as a reporter, columnist and editor for The Detroit News from 1995 to 2008, specializing in business journalism and personal finance.  As a freelance writer, her work has appeared in print and online for numerous news organizations ranging from Bankrate.com to Agence France-Presse to D Business magazine.   She has authored and presented training materials to other journalists via seminars and webinars nationwide.

Preddy received a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Journalism from The University of Michigan, and also was selected as a Knight-Wallace Fellow in Journalism 04-05 for her study proposal on the topic of financial anthropology.

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Judith Boldt, B.B.A.

Executive Assistant

Judith Boldt  is executive assistant to Dr. Feldman, responsible for grant and manuscript submissions, as well as daily correspondence and administrative activities for the Taubman Institute and the Program for Neurology Research and Discovery laboratory.  Boldt also assists Dr. Feldman in her work on  the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Center for the Study of Complications in Diabetes.  She received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Eastern Michigan University in 2005. 

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