Our Team

Brian Broadbent has a daughter with mutations in both the Chaserr and CHD2 genes that cause her to produce too much CHD2 protein, which is the more severe phenotype for CHD2 related disorders. This diagnosis, achieved through whole genome sequencing, is the culmination of an almost 4 year diagnostic journey and was the result of a collaboration between the Rare Genomes Project of the Broad Institute and the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Brian’s daughter is the first person in the world with a Chaserr mutation, which is a long noncoding RNA adjacent to, and believed to regulate, the CHD2 gene.

Brian currently runs a small digital marketing agency with his brother. Prior to transitioning to digital marketing, he was a portfolio manager at Highland Capital Management LLP and has also served in risk management roles at Goldman Sachs, National Westminster Bank, and Bankers Trust Corporation. Brian has a BS in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Brian is passionate about advocating for both the undiagnosed and those facing rare diseases. He previously served on the Board of the UDN PEER, the patient and parent advisory group for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, a NIH funded research project by the Common Fund.

Brian resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Julia, daughters Emma (7) and Claire (12), and cat Cash.

Christina SanInocencio has been involved in rare epilepsy advocacy and non-profit management for 15 years. She is the founder and former executive director of the LGS Foundation and has a 35 year old brother living with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Dr. SanInocencio's research interests include interpersonal health communication, health literacy, medical transitioning, and social support. She currently holds academic appointments at Fairfield University and Stony Brook University and serves as a rare disease / non-profit consultant and qualitative researcher.

​Christina resides in Long Island, New York

Chris has a son who is affected by the CHD2 gene mutation. Along with his wife, Elizabeth, Chris has been on a journey to understand the impact of this condition and give their son everything possible to help overcome its debilitating symptoms. The CHD2 family community has been a source of strength and hope, and as a founding member of CCC, Chris is determined to help advance research in the field with the goal of developing targeted treatments for the disease.

Chris works for Legal and General Investment Management in Chicago. He has a BS in Software Engineering from Fairfield University and a MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Chris, Elizabeth and their two children reside in Chicago and are active members of various city and neighborhood organizations.

In April 2010, Lauren and her husband John welcomed triplet girls to their family and their dreams of starting a family came true instantly. Two and half years later, one of their daughters experienced her first seizure. For six years, Lauren had her daughter go on a diagnostic odyssey taking every possible test, seeing numerous physicians and flying her to multiple states where they searched for a diagnosis and cause for her daughter’s Epilepsy and developmental delays.

In December of 2018, they finally learned through an Epilepsy Gene panel that she had a spontaneous mutation of the CHD2 gene. With the diagnosis came a lot of unanswered questions, lack of resources and guidance on medication options. The diagnosis led Lauren to a patient and caregiver community but still offered no real answers to fix her daughter's symptoms. Lauren decided to take matters into her own hands. In late 2020, she called Christine Salmi, another mom who has a daughter with a CHD2 mutation and they decided together, they were going to build a non-profit whose main goal would be to fund research in order to find a CURE for CHD2 neurodevelopmental disorders.

Lauren has spent her entire professional career communicating with physicians in the pharmaceutical and medical device space. It wasn’t until 2017 though, where her connection between her personal life and her professional life found the ultimate synergy. Lauren is currently a Regional Sales Manager for Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Lauren lives in Arizona and has previously served as the President and Vice-President of Seville Golf & Country Club’s Board of Governors. She also has volunteered as a Seizure Smart Trainer for the Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona. She received her B.A. in Communications from Rowan University.

Laura is CCC's first Executive Director. An expert in nonprofit management and administration, Laura has been Executive Director of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation for the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University; Program Director for Women for Afghan Women; Director of Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute; and Director of the International Monitor Institute. She also has extensive personal experience with many of the challenges faced by the CHD2 community because her younger son has tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a rare genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumors to form in vital organs, and is associated with epilepsy, autism, and intellectual disability; and her older sister also has epilepsy, intellectual disability, and neuropsychiatric disorders. 

Laura serves on the Board of Directors of the TSC Alliance and is co-lead of the TSC Alliance Community of NY, NJ & CT and co-chair of the TSC Alliance 50th Anniversary Gala. Laura earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. 

She and her husband live in Queens, New York and have two young adult-ish children. She can be reached at laura@curechd2.org