People

François Gould, PhD

Principal Investigator

François joined Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine as an assistant professor in July 2019 from Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), where he had been since 2013. He has been an author on over twenty peer reviewed publications on swallowing and swallowing dysfunction. He currently holds an NIH R01 grant to investigate the mechanism of dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease. Although his current focus is on understanding swallowing dysfunction for clinical improvements, he actually started his research career as a paleontologist studying mammalian evolution after the extinction of the dinosaurs during his PhD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During his PhD he also started teaching human gross anatomy, something that he continues at Rowan-Virtua SOM. François’ broad background in mammalian anatomy, evolution, and neuromuscular function informs his holistic, integrated approach to understanding how swallowing works, and fails, in human diseases. François lives in Philadelphia with his husband and their two cats.

Dawid Wojtas

Research Technician

Dawid joined the Gould lab in 2023, bringing with him many years of experience in animal model neuroscience research. Dawid is responsible for much of the day to day running of the lab, as well as all the experimental and histological techniques we use. He is also our animal care expert and technical problem solver.

Colton Pelletier

Graduate Student

Colton is a graduate student in the neuroscience PhD program of the Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. He joined the Gould lab in 2025 and progressed to full candidacy in June 2026. Colton’s thesis work will focus on isolating the role of the basal ganglia circuitry in dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease.

Openings

The Gould lab is actively recruiting student members through the Neuroscience PhD program of the Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering and Sciences and the Summer Medical Research Fellowship (SMRF) program for first year medical students at the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine.