Director, Spinal Research Foundation

Lee Bryan Claassen, CAE

Lee Bryan Claassen is responsible for providing staff leadership and direction toward the achievement of the Spinal Research Foundation’s strategic goals and objectives.  With a non-profit and association management career spanning more than 25 years, Lee has worked in prestigious trade and professional societies as well as charitable organizations ranging in size from four staff to over 1,000, and is experienced in a broad spectrum of operational specialties including fundraising, marketing, membership, customer service, and board, volunteer, and component relations.  Lee has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing from Grand Valley State University and has pursued graduate studies at the University of Virginia.  Lee is a member of ASAE-The Center for Association Leadership and has earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation.  She has served on ASAE’s Health Care Community Committee and currently serves as the Vice President of Membership on the Association Foundation Group’s (AFG) Board of Directors.

Director of Research

Brian R. Subach, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Spinal Surgeon

College: Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI
Medical School: University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI
Residency: Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Fellowship: Spinal Surgery, Emory Clinic, Atlanta, GA Board Certification: American Board of Neurological Surgery, American Board of Spinal Surgery

Dr. Subach joined the Virginia Spine Institute in 2003 leaving behind his appointment as Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Spinal Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Subach is a nationally recognized expert in the treatment of spinal disorders and an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgery, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the North American Spine Society. He is an invited member of the international Lumbar Spine Study Group and a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons. He is the Director of Research for both the Virginia Spine Institute and the non-profit Spinal Research Foundation. He has written 15 book chapters and more than 50 published articles regarding treatment of the spine.

Associate Director of Research

Anne G. Copay, Ph.D. completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. She obtained a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Organizational Behavior) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Kinesiology (Exercise Physiology) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Copay has been involved in numerous research projects in the Departments of Business Administration, Kinesiology, and the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois. Her research areas include organizational structure, worksite health promotion, the evaluation of police officer training, assessment of physical activity, the effect of physical activity on energy expenditure and body weight. Dr. Copay has authored several articles in those areas. She has taught classes in Management, Organizational Behavior, Movement Analysis, Physical Activities, and Human Anatomy for the Departments of Business Administration, Kinesiology, and Cell and Structural Biology at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Copay joined the Spinal Research Foundation after leaving the University of Illinois. She is interested in studying the outcomes of the surgical and non-surgical spinal treatments.

Research Associate

Marcus Martin, Ph.D. completed his undergraduate studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland where he majored in Biology. He was then awarded a Fogarty research fellowship position at The Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was trained in Virology and Vaccinology. After this, he accepted research Fellowship at the University of Florida, where he earned his PhD in microbiology with a concentration in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) vaccinology.

In his research at the University of Florida he worked with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus as a model for HIV vaccine design. In the laboratory of Dr. J.K. Yamamoto he was part of a team that developed an effective HIV based FIV vaccine providing potential blueprint for a human vaccine. His research also identified key FIV vaccine epitope targets which may enhance the cellular immune response to HIV. He taught classes in microbiology and advanced immunology at the University of Florida.

Dr. Martin joined SRF after leaving the University of Florida and is actively involved in the expansion of the laboratory research performed at SRF. He is interested in neuroregenerative approaches to the treatment of spinal pathologies and neuroimmunological human clinical research.

National Program Coordinator

Meghan McWilliams completed her undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University where she received her B.A. in Mathematics. She has been active in organizing the "We've Got Your Back" race/walks for Spinal Health to benefit the Spinal Research Foundation (SRF).  She is dedicated to advancing SRF's mission of improving spinal health care through research, education, and patient advocacy.