Faculty

Dr. Davis received his PhD in Pathology from Boston University School of Medicine and completed his post doctorate training at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology located at the University of Southern California.  

In 2013, Dr. Davis joined the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank with the goal of utilizing his training to provide investigators with the highest quality biospecimens to catalyze their research. He has participated in and supervised the dissection and allocation of more than 10,000 biospecimens for NIH NeuroBioBank investigators.

In addition to his activities in the Biorepository, Dr. Davis is developing a multidisciplinary research program involving the collaboration of environmental scientists, ethnobotanists, neurologist, pathologists, and toxicologists all focused on investigating the effects of environmental exposures on the brain.

Dr. Davis has devoted his scientific career to explore the relationship between toxins in our environment and their potential roles in causing neurodegenerative disease. His current research focuses on the connection between the cyanobacterial neurotoxin BMAA and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

His most recent publication in the Journal of Experimental Neurology and Neuropathology (January 2020) has documented the chronic dietary exposure to BMAA can cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-type pathology in a preclinical vervet model. In South Florida, our water systems are frequently affected by cyanobacterial blooms that produce the BMAA toxin. Dr. Davis is currently focused on how exposure to the BMAA neurotoxin is impacting the health of residents in Florida.

He is a member of the American Association of Neuropathologists, the American Association of Bioanalysts Board of Registry, the Society of Toxicology Southeastern Chapter, and the International Society of Neurotoxicology. His research on cyanobacterial toxins has been featured in nationwide publications including the Miami Herald, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The London Economic, and the Washington Post.

Current Position: Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Associate Director of the Neuropathology and the Research Clinical Divisions at the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank.

Dr. Vontell earned her doctoral degree from King’s College London, United Kingdom and she also holds a masters degree in neuropsychology from the University of Connecticut and trained at Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Dr. Vontell joined the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank in 2016. Dr. Vontell has a research portfolio that includes both infant and adult neuroanatomy and neuropathology.

Dr. Vontell has a keen interest in studying the biological mechanisms involved neuroinflammation and its role in psychological disorders and neurodegenerative pathologies. Her current research focuses on the neuroinflammatory response associated with paranoid schizophrenia. Her earlier work was on the inflammatory mechanisms seen in preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia which is a form of white-matter brain injury.

Her most recent publication in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology (2015) and Frontiers of Neurology (2018) demonstrated the underlying molecular mechanism associated with impaired development seen in preterm infants. Her work provides insight into the pathology of perinatal brain injury and suggests new avenues for the development of therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Vontell is a Chartered Scientist with the British Science Council which recognizes scientists with high levels of skill and experiences. In addition to national certification, Dr. Vontell holds a license as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor in the State of Florida. Dr. Vontell is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the American Society of Clinical Pathology.

Current Position: Director of Neuropathology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Director of Clinical and Molecular Neuropathology for the University of Miami Brain Tumor Initiative, Medical Director for the Brain Endowment Bank, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Gultekin is board-certified in both anatomic pathology and neuropathology. He received his M.D. from the Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. He first completed his training as a clinical neurologist in the Istanbul University Hospital Department of Neurology. He subsequently completed a two-year fellowship in neuropathology at the University of Massachusetts and Brigham & Women’s Hospitals. He completed his training in anatomic pathology at the Weill-Cornell University Medical Center, and an oncologic pathology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Immediately prior to joining the UM faculty/staff he served as associate professor in the Department of Pathology at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor of pathology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. While at OHSU, he also served as the medical director for the Neuromuscular Pathology Laboratory, and as program director of OHSU’s Pathology Residency Program.

His research interests are brain tumors, paraneoplastic diseases of the nervous system and tissue markers of myopathy. He has many peer-reviewed publications and has authored a variety of chapters in reference textbooks. Clinically, Dr. Gultekin is responsible for the neuropathology services offered at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, UHealth, University of Miami Hospital, Jackson Memorial Hospital and Holtz Children’s Hospital. He has expanded the neuropathology services to include a robust nerve and muscle biopsy laboratory, expected to serve as a national reference center. 

As the Medical Director of the Brain Endowment Bank, Dr. Gultekin has direct oversight of the neuropathological analysis and review performed on all donor brains in the program. 

Current Position: Associate Professor of Neurology, Education Director of McKnight

Brain Institute, Clinical Director for the Brain Endowment Bank, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Sun is a board-certified neurologist with fellowship training in cognitive neurology. She started her medical career as a neurologist in China, where she earned her M.D. and obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience in Japan. Dr. Sun finished her Neurology residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in the United States and completed a cognitive/behavioral neurology fellowship in the VA Boston Healthcare System.

Dr. Sun is a fully trained physician-scientist. Currently, she sees patients with cognitive problems at Memory Disorder Clinic of University of Miami. Dr. Sun’s research activities have focused on Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. She is actively involved with medical students, neurology residents, psychiatry residents and cognitive fellows education at the medical school. Dr. Sun serves as a Clinical Director at Brain Endowment Bank. Dr. Sun is in charge of making final clinical diagnosis of donor brains.