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Rita Sattler, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Sattler received her master’s and doctorate degrees in neurophysiology from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Sattler stayed at Johns Hopkins University and attained the academic rank of assistant professor of Neurology, with a secondary appointment in the Brain Science Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sattler is a member of the American Society for Neuroscience and the American Society for Neurochemistry. She is the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the Governor’s Gold Medal for the highest academic achievement in graduate studies at the University of Toronto, a Human Frontier Science Program Long-term Fellowship, and a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship. She currently serves as grant reviewer for several national and international disease foundations as well as the NIH.
Dr. Sattler’s research focuses on studies of synaptic biology in health and disease. She employs human patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells to elucidate the mechanisms of neuronal cell death in numerous neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Dr. Sattler is principal investigator and co-investigator of numerous active grants from the NIH/NINDS as well as several disease foundations, including the ALS Association (ALSA), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research.

- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neuroscience, 1999-2004
- PhD, University of Toronto, Physiology, 1999
- MS, University of Toronto, Physiology, 1996
- BS, Technical University of Mannheim, Chemical and Biotechnology Engineering, 1993
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Society for Neurochemistry
- Volunteer of the year, The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, 2010
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2003-2004
- Governor General’s Gold Medal for the Highest Academic Achievement in Graduate Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2000
- Long Term Fellowship, Human Frontier Science Program, 2000-2003
C9orf72 deficiency promotes microglial-mediated synaptic loss in aging and amyloid accumulation
Date: 07/2021
Authors: Deepti Lall, Ileana Lorenzini, Thomas A. Mota, Shaughn Bell, Thomas E. Mahan, Jason D. Ulrich, Hayk Davtyan, Jessica E. Rexach, A K. Muhammad, Oksana Shelest, Jesse Landeros, Michael Vazquez, Junwon Kim, Layla Ghaffari, Jacqueline Gire O'Rourke, Daniel H. Geschwind, Mathew Blurton-Jones, David M. Holtzman, Rita Sattler, Robert H. Baloh
The M1311V variant of ATP7A is associated with impaired trafficking and copper homeostasis in models of motor neuron disease
Date: 02/2021
Authors: Nadine Bakkar, Alexander Starr, Benjamin E. Rabichow, Ileana Lorenzini, Zachary T. McEachin, Robert Kraft, Matthew Chaung, Sam Macklin-Isquierdo, Taylor Wingfield, Briggs Carhart, Nathan Zahler, Wen Hsuan Chang, Gary J. Bassell, Alexandre Betourne, Nicholas Boulis, Samuel V. Alworth, Justin K. Ichida, Paul R. August, Daniela C. Zarnescu, Rita Sattler, Robert Bowser
Generation of two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from an ALS patient with simultaneous mutations in KIF5A and MATR3 genes
Date: 01/2021
Authors: David X. Medina, Ashley Boehringer, Marissa Dominick, Ileana Lorenzini, Sara Saez-Atienzar, Erik P. Pioro, Rita Sattler, Bryan Traynor, Robert Bowser, R. Bowser
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking in Neurodegeneration.
Date: 06/2020
Authors: Stephen Moore, Benjamin E Rabichow, Rita Sattler
Recent advances in understanding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and emerging therapies
Date: 01/2020
Authors: Lauren M. Gittings, Rita Sattler
- English


Rita Sattler, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow Neurological Institute.
Dr. Sattler received her master’s and doctorate degrees in neurophysiology from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Sattler stayed at Johns Hopkins University and attained the academic rank of assistant professor of Neurology, with a secondary appointment in the Brain Science Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sattler is a member of the American Society for Neuroscience and the American Society for Neurochemistry. She is the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the Governor’s Gold Medal for the highest academic achievement in graduate studies at the University of Toronto, a Human Frontier Science Program Long-term Fellowship, and a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship. She currently serves as grant reviewer for several national and international disease foundations as well as the NIH.
Dr. Sattler’s research focuses on studies of synaptic biology in health and disease. She employs human patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells to elucidate the mechanisms of neuronal cell death in numerous neurodegenerative disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Dr. Sattler is principal investigator and co-investigator of numerous active grants from the NIH/NINDS as well as several disease foundations, including the ALS Association (ALSA), the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research.


- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neuroscience, 1999-2004
- PhD, University of Toronto, Physiology, 1999
- MS, University of Toronto, Physiology, 1996
- BS, Technical University of Mannheim, Chemical and Biotechnology Engineering, 1993
- Society for Neuroscience
- American Society for Neurochemistry
- Volunteer of the year, The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, 2010
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2003-2004
- Governor General’s Gold Medal for the Highest Academic Achievement in Graduate Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2000
- Long Term Fellowship, Human Frontier Science Program, 2000-2003
C9orf72 deficiency promotes microglial-mediated synaptic loss in aging and amyloid accumulation
Date: 07/2021
Authors: Deepti Lall, Ileana Lorenzini, Thomas A. Mota, Shaughn Bell, Thomas E. Mahan, Jason D. Ulrich, Hayk Davtyan, Jessica E. Rexach, A K. Muhammad, Oksana Shelest, Jesse Landeros, Michael Vazquez, Junwon Kim, Layla Ghaffari, Jacqueline Gire O'Rourke, Daniel H. Geschwind, Mathew Blurton-Jones, David M. Holtzman, Rita Sattler, Robert H. Baloh
The M1311V variant of ATP7A is associated with impaired trafficking and copper homeostasis in models of motor neuron disease
Date: 02/2021
Authors: Nadine Bakkar, Alexander Starr, Benjamin E. Rabichow, Ileana Lorenzini, Zachary T. McEachin, Robert Kraft, Matthew Chaung, Sam Macklin-Isquierdo, Taylor Wingfield, Briggs Carhart, Nathan Zahler, Wen Hsuan Chang, Gary J. Bassell, Alexandre Betourne, Nicholas Boulis, Samuel V. Alworth, Justin K. Ichida, Paul R. August, Daniela C. Zarnescu, Rita Sattler, Robert Bowser
Generation of two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from an ALS patient with simultaneous mutations in KIF5A and MATR3 genes
Date: 01/2021
Authors: David X. Medina, Ashley Boehringer, Marissa Dominick, Ileana Lorenzini, Sara Saez-Atienzar, Erik P. Pioro, Rita Sattler, Bryan Traynor, Robert Bowser, R. Bowser
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking in Neurodegeneration.
Date: 06/2020
Authors: Stephen Moore, Benjamin E Rabichow, Rita Sattler
Recent advances in understanding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and emerging therapies
Date: 01/2020
Authors: Lauren M. Gittings, Rita Sattler
- English