Meet Our Principle Investigators

Han C. Phan, MD

  • Dr. Phan is a pediatric neurologist and sleep specialist with years of clinical experience. She is passionate about clinical research, specifically clinical research in rare diseases. Her passion and motivation to improve access to clinical trials for patients with rare diseases led her to establish Rare Disease Research, LLC. Dr. Phan earned her MD at Morehouse School of Medicine and completed her residency at the University of Alabama.

Scott Batchelor, MD, MPH

  • Dr. Batchelor is a board-certified pediatrician specialized in pediatric emergency medicine. He earned his MD at Mercer University, completed his residency at Emory University, and earned his MPH from Johns Hopkins University.

Renata Shih, MD

  • Dr. Renata Shih is a highly accomplished, board-certified pediatric cardiologist with a specialized focus on pediatric heart failure, heart transplant, and neuromuscular diseases. She earned her medical degree from the prestigious Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas da Santa Casa de Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and completed her pediatric residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at the renowned University of Florida. For the past decade, Dr. Shih has been deeply involved in the clinical care of pediatric heart failure, heart transplant recipients, and patients with neuromuscular conditions. Notably, she has actively participated in numerous clinical trials focused on advancing treatments for heart failure, heart transplant, and neuromuscular diseases, bringing a wealth of clinical and research experience to RDR.

Edward Smith, MD

  • Dr. Smith is a pediatric neurologist specialized in neuromuscular clinical trials and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University. Prior to joining RDR, he served as a faculty member in the Duke Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology from 2007-2023, and he founded and directed the Duke Children’s Neuromuscular Program, which continues to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to patients with muscle and nerve disorders. He received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Ashutosh Kumar, MBBS, MD

  • Dr. Kumar is triple board certified in Pediatrics, Neurology with special qualification in Child Neurology and Epilepsy. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, NY and fellowship in Pediatric Neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the Co-Director of MDA Care Center, Director of PPMD Certified Duchenne Care Center and Director of CMTA Center of Excellence.  Dr. Kumar participated in several clinical trials pertaining to Pediatric Neuromuscular disorders, including Deflazacort (Emflaza) and Exondys-51 (Eteplirsen) which were first FDA approved drugs for DMD.