Sabrina Paganoni, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Paganoni is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and works as a physician scientist at the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital and at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Her research focuses on developing new treatments for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease). She has served as PI of several ALS clinical trials and has been using novel trial designs, novel endpoints and digital technology tools to innovate the way investigational products are tested in ALS. She is the co-PI of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, the first platform trial for ALS in the world. She recently reported the positive results of the CENTAUR trial and is the co-Chair of the global PHOENIX trial.

She is also working with people with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS), a rare form of Motor Neuron Disease, and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). She co-chairs the PLS Task Force and the PLS registry of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS).  She is working with other Harvard researchers on developing new assistive technology devices that can improve function and quality of life for people with ALS and other forms of Motor Neuron Disease. 

Dr. Paganoni published >100 peer-reviewed papers.  She is an editorial board member for Muscle and Nerve and the American Journal of PM&R where she is also Associate Editor for the Section Evidence-Based Physiatry/Cochrane Corner.  Her research has been funded by the NIH, foundations, and industry.  She received several awards for her work including the NIH Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program Award (2012), the American Academy of Neurology / ALS Association Three-Year Career Development Award in ALS (2017), the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine Scientific Impact Award (2019), the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award (2021) and the Martin Prize for Excellence in Clinical Research Award (2021).

Dr. Paganoni holds 3 Board Certifications (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neuromuscular Medicine, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine). She is a member of the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM).