Staff

Wizner Canate

Tissue Bank Technician

Wizner was born and raised in Cartegena, Columbia. Arriving in the States in 1995, Mr. Canate became a Certified Surgical Technologist in 2008. He began his career at The University of Miami Tissue Bank in 2006. While there, he was the Processing Supervisor, overseeing the cleaning and processing of long bone and musculoskeletal tissues for transplant.

Mr. Canate eventually transferred to the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, at the University and eventually to the Brain Endowment Bank in 2015. Here, his responsibilities include recovery and processing of brain tissue, physical inventory management, and first on call for the management of our freezers alarm notifications.

Linda Duque, BA, MA

Research Manager SPSS Database

Mrs. Duque received her BA and MA from Western Michigan University in Michigan. She also received a specialty degree in Alcohol and Drug Abuse and has a minor in Holistic Health and Women’s Studies. This makes her a very valuable addition to the brain bank, as we receive many applicants who suffer from abuse and addiction. 

Mrs. Duque maintains our living donor database, continuing a very active communication with our living registrants by communicating via birthday cards and calling for informational updates as well as cognitive tests. 

She maintains the SPSS Database Management of UMBEB donor demographics, Clinical Variables, and outcome results of major research projects and testing.

Mrs. Duque also provides summaries of medical and social history and medical findings to the board-certified neuropathologists who establish a diagnosis with all of this information along with the tissue samples.

Other certifications

• CAP – State of Florida Certified Addiction Professional #756 - since 12/88
  
• ICADC - Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor since 1990
  

Susanna P. Garamszegi B.S.

Manager, Research Laboratory

Susanna P. Garamszegi is a research laboratory manager in the Department of Neurology and QA/QC manager at the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank. Her overarching career goal has been to facilitate science: to identify a need in the scientific community and to help other scientists’ plans come to fruition.

Ms. Garamszegi finished her chemistry degree in Hungary and after moving to the U.S. she started to work in molecular biology and protein chemistry fields at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. 

Ms. Garamszegi joined the University of Miami Orthopaedics Department and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2005 as a laboratory supervisor. In this post she worked on signal transduction studies in sarcoma and breast cancer, and participated in the training of undergraduate, graduate students, and research fellows. 

She moved into her current position in 2011 and expanded her skills to an RNA biology role in neuroscience. She supports grant applications for all Brain Endowment Bank faculty, executes the research plans funded by those grants, and serves as the primary laboratory analyst for the research division. Through her career, she has co-authored 23 publications.
In addition, she manages the QC/QA program for the entire Brain Endowment Bank, one of the six NIH sponsored NeuroBioBanks.

Christina Romani Piersol

Manager of Donor and Client Services 

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Mrs. Piersol began her career at The University of Miami Tissue Bank in 2002. For 13 years, her job responsibilities varied from recovery technician, Certified Tissue Bank Specialist, Central Service Technician, Inventory and Distribution Supervisor, Quality Assurance technician. She participated in several AATB meetings, AATB and FDA audits, and was a key person in facilitating the move from the medical campus facility to the newly built, state-of-the-art facility down the street. 

In 2015, Christina transferred to The University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank, as the tissue bank had been sold to a private entity and her heart belonged to non-profit, donor and family-based, services. The brain bank was a perfect fit. She continues her work with donor families and clients as the Manager of Donor and Client Services. 

In 2020, Christina graduated from Miami-Dade College with an Associates in Science in Funeral Sciences. She will continue on to become a licensed funeral director in the state of Florida. Her passion with working with families during their time of need stems from her father, who was a local funeral director in Miami Shores for over 30 years.