Welcome New Faculty!

Meet Dr. Dina Dababneh

General Neurology

Dina Dababneh, MD, assistant professor of neurology at CUMC, in the Division of General Neurology. Dr. Dababneh received her medical degree from the University of Jordan. She spent two years in research training at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Maryland and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She subsequently completed Neurology residency at Saint Louis University and clinical fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis at University of Toronto, serving as chief resident and chief fellow, respectively. Dr. Dababneh’s clinical and research interests include clinically isolated syndrome, progressive forms of MS, environmental risk factors in MS, as well as MS biomarkers. She will see patients with MS and other adult neurological disorders in the Neurological Institute of New York.

For an appointment with Dr. Dababneh, please call 646-426-3876.

Meet Dr. Chih-Chun (Charles) Lin

Movement Disorders

Chih-Chun (Charles) Lin, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, in the Division of Movement Disorders. Dr. Lin received his medical degree from National Taiwan University and a PhD in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Lin subsequently completed his residency at the Houston Methodist Hospital and a fellowship in Movement Disorders here at Columbia. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Lin is a member of the Initiative for Columbia Ataxia and Tremor (ICAT), and is involved in both clinical trials for cerebellar ataxia and tremor, as well as laboratory research studying mechanisms of cerebellar ataxia. As a movement disorders specialist, he will see patients with cerebellar ataxia and tremor, as well as PD and various other movement disorders, in the Neurological Institute of New York.

For an appointment with Dr. Lin, please call 646-426-3876.

Meet Dr. Amy E. Rumora

Translational Neurobiology Program

Amy E. Rumora, PhD, assistant professor of neurological sciences (in Neurology) in the department’s new Translational Neurobiology Program. Dr. Rumora graduated from Mount Holyoke College and received her PhD from the University of Vermont. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the lab of Dr. Eva Feldman at the University of Michigan, focusing on mitochondrial dysfunction associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Her current research aims to identify molecular mechanisms underlying the development of peripheral neuropathy (PN), using a combination of animal models, live-cell confocal imaging techniques, and molecular analyses. Dr. Rumora is particularly focused on the role that dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) may play in differentially regulating nerve function. The long-term goal of her lab is to identify new mechanisms underlying PN progression to support the development of mechanism-based therapies.