Dr. Cho is a surgeon-scientist with the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) at Vancouver General Hospital.

He completed his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Toronto in 2023.  During his residency training, he also completed a PhD with Grégoire Courtine at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) examining neuromodulation to improve walking after spinal cord injury in 2021.  His graduate work identified a novel target of deep brain stimulation that improves gait after chronic traumatic spinal cord injury. 

He then went on to complete a stereotactic/functional neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Toronto in 2024.  This was followed by a combined neurosurgery/orthopaedic spine surgery fellowship at the University of Calgary in 2025. 

He has received a number of recognitions for his clinical and research work including the Warren Ho Memorial Scholarship by the University of Toronto, Biaggi de Blasys Foundation Award for best doctoral thesis, and the Science & PINS Prize for Neuromodulation.

His clinical interests include adult spine trauma, degenerative disease, tumours, and infections and hopes to push the intersection of functional neurosurgery and spine surgery to improve neurological function after injury and neurodegenerative disease.  

Outside of the lab, he enjoys hiking and following the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Michelle completed her MSc in Biochemistry at UBC Okanagan under the supervision of Dr. Phil Barker and Dr. Julien Gibon, investigating the role of PLCγ1 in TrkA-dependent dorsal root ganglion sensory neuron degeneration using pharmacological inhibition and genetically modified mouse models.  

Before that, she earned her BSc in Biochemistry at UBC, where she conducted her undergraduate thesis on the effects of Baf53b mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder using primary mouse models. 

Michelle is excited to apply this background to the study of spinal cord injury. 

In her free time, she enjoys crocheting amigurumi and flowers, and for outdoor activities she tries her best not to wipe out on a snowboard. 

Prior to joining the Neuroscience Program at UBC, Riley completed her Honours Bachelor of Science (Psychology) at the University of Toronto. Her previous research under Dr. Junchul Kim examined the involvement of the mammillary bodies in spatial memory and vestibular function. 

Co-supervised with Dr. Brett Hilton, Riley’s current research investigates the use of optogenetic stimulation to improve recovery of hand/arm function following spinal cord injuries. 

In her free time she loves to ski, read, paint, and learn all other types of arts and crafts! 

Seale (he/they) is a MSc Neuroscience student at UBC, and is working on applying techniques such as optogenetics and neuromodulation to further deepen our understanding of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and possible interventions.

Seale earned his BSc in Neuroscience at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Under the guidance of mentor Dr. Rachael Guenter, they conducted a genetic engineering thesis project, utilizing CRISPR/dCas9 technology, to artificially upregulate endogenous somatostatin receptor type 2 in neuroendocrine cancers. Additionally, he was a 2022 Genentech WAVE Fellow at the California Institute of Technology in the Shimojo Psychophysics Lab studying the “Team Flow” brain state. 

In their free time, Seale enjoys spending time outdoors, collecting rocks and fossils, weight-lifting, playing D&D/Magic: the Gathering, hanging out with his cats, and talking about disability justice. 

Jeffrey is an undergraduate student at UBC, majoring in Computer Science.  He is very interested in computer vision, machine learning, and neuroscience.  Jeffrey's project focuses on the use of DeepLabCut for markerless kinematic analysis of mouse gait.

Zubina is a Neuroscience student at UBC. She is interested in applying neuroimaging techniques, particularly MRI, to improve treatment and rehabilitation outcomes following injury. 

Currently, she is exploring how supraspinal brain regions such as the lateral hypothalamus reorganize after spinal cord injury and play a role in locomotor recovery. Her work centers on structural neuroimaging utilizing methods such as atlas-based segmentation. She is especially interested in understanding how changes in brain structure relate to functional recovery in rehabilitation.