Ivan Milanov is Director & Professor at the University Neurological Hospital “St. Naum”, Department of Movement Disorders and Chief of Neurological clinic of Movement Disorders. He is the Consultant of the Ministry of Health. Member of the Governmental commission for the positive drug list of Bulgaria for 3 mandates.He is the President of theBulgarian Neurological Society, Bulgarian Movement Disorders and Multiple Sclerosis Society, Bulgarian Headache and Pain Society, Bulgarian Society of Clinical Electromyography, Vice President of the Bulgarian Association of Neuroprotection and Neurodegeneration.

Headache,Back pain, Movement Disorders, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Sleep disorders and anxiety, Clinical electromyography, Botox treatment

Dr. Drini DOBI was born in January 27th, 1969, and graduated as PhD in University of Tirana, Albania in 1992, and has done the specialization course in Neurology from 1994-1998 in University Hospital Centre "Mother Teresa", Tirana Albania. After his specialization, he has done some other minispecialization course for neurorehabilitation in Instituto Carlo Besta, Milano, Italy, San Carlo , Milan, Italy and Don Carlo Gnocchi Milano, Italy and minispecialization course for neurosonology in UHC "Sestre Milosrdnice" Zagreb, Croatia. He has a lot of publications in some medical periodics and has participated in some of AAN Annual Meetings with his works, EFNS and EAN conferences, with his works too, and some other Neurological Conferences abroad. His Masters is in Rehabilitation in Parkinson Disease, in 2005 and PhD in Physical Rehabilitation after stroke in 2015. He is also the Member of EAN Scientific Pannel of Neurorehabilitation ,Scientific Pannel of neurotoxicology, and General Neurology

Neurorehabilitation and Stroke

Dr. E. Faizo. is a certified licensed Medical Doctor specialized in Neurosurgery and spine surgery practicing in Murnau Hospital south Germany. He presented in international seminars, media interviews and conferences in Health Care and education. Member of the Advisory boards in many German medical companies. Member of the German and European Neurosurgical Societies.

Spine surgery in research and pain therapy , Neuromodulation

Dr.Jera KRUJA is a Member of Scientific Committee at European Academy of Neurology and Professor of Neurology at Mother Theresa University Hospital Center. Since 2014 she is (European representative) at Teaching Course Committee, World Federation of Neurology. During 2013-2014 she is a Rector of University of Medicine, Tirana and Member of editing board of OA Publishing London, WebMed Central Brain Editor, Albanian Medical Journal, Bulletin of Medical Sciences, University of Medicine, Tirana. She worked at Health National Contact Point, European Commission, CORDIS Fp7 programme(2010-2013). From 2003, she is a reviewer of European Journal of Neurology, Clinical Epidemiology, Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Journal of Pediatric Epilepsy. She is a Trainer of European Academy of Epilepsy since February 2003. She is the President of Albanian Society of Neurology (ASN) during 1998-2007

Neurology, Neuroradiology, Epidemiology

He founded SGNP Ltd - Neuro Therapy Specialist Services and Stroke & Brain Injury Specialist Services UK in early 2013 after years of successful Neuro Physiotherapy practice both in the NHS and privately. As Neuro Physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Director of SGNP Ltd he is responsible for clients with complex needs and background due to neurological conditions particularly Brain Injury & Stroke. He designs and update rehabilitation programs with the aim of maximising the functional outcomes of clients to bring them as close as possible to their previous level of functioning.

Neurological Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation

Bachelor and Master in Clinical and Health Psychology at Aveiro University (Portugal) and internship in Coimbra Hospital University Centre (e.g., Intervention in Sleep Disorders and Pain Disorders). Later, worked as a psychologist and neuropsychologist. Also performed a research project in Biofeedback/Neurofeedback by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Concomitantly, made several national and international communications in various Congress as Guest Speaker in the field of Neuroscience. Editor in Chief and Founder of the International Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience and Editor in several Scientific Journals and Author of various articles in peer review journals. At the moment, is a Ph.D. student in Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca – Neurosciences Institute of Castilla y León

Experimental Psychology, Neuropsychology and Biological Rhythms, particularly in: Assessment and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Drug Abuse and Addiction, Behavioural

Kim Baden-Kristensen is the CEO and Co-founder of Brain+, which specializes in digital therapeutics for brain rehabilitation and remediation, specifically for the recovery of impaired cognitive functions due to injury or disease. It’s award winning Brain+ apps are being clinically tested in Parkinson’s disease, Major depressive disorder and Traumatic brain injury patients, and is being used by Danish national team athletes to enhance cognitive performance. Brain+ is also working on pre-symptomatic detection of Alzheimer’s disease in collaboration with leading European universities, providers, and patient organizations.

Cognitive Disorders, Brain Disorders

Dr. E. Faizo. is a certified licensed Medical Doctor specialized in Neurosurgery and spine surgery practicing in Murnau Hospital south Germany. He presented in international seminars, media interviews and conferences in Health Care and education. Member of the Advisory boards in many German medical companies. Member of the German and European Neurosurgical Societies.

Spine surgery in research and pain therapy , Neuromodulation

Dr. Nino Devidze is the Director of Neuroscience Research, Gene Therapy Program in Perelman School of Medicine of University of Pennsylvania. She was the Principal Scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb. And also she served as a Director of Neurobehavioral Core Laboratory at Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco. She has received many awards and she published over 51 scientific abstracts.

Neuroscience, Gene Therapyand her current focus is developing AAV therapies for Neurodevelopmental Diseases

Dr. Alberto E. Musto, MD, PhD, FAES, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Anatomy, one of the Module Directors of the Pre-clerkship CareForward Curriculum, School of Medicine and Director of Neuroanatomy course, School of Health Professionals at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Musto integrates an interdisciplinary approach in medical education and mentorship activities in neuroscience research to enhance research, and diversity in the new medical curricula. He has been bestowed with a prestigious award -- Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society (FAES) – a lifetime professional honor in recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to excellence in epilepsy. He has several publications in major journals in the field of neuroscience and epilepsy, including with his colleagues patents in neuroprotection and against glioblastoma multiforme development. He has been a member of NIH grant review study sections.

Interests: His primary research interest is to understand the immune-inflammatory process in the neural tissue following a brain injury that contribute to aberrant neuronal networks formations which mediate the development of epilepsy.

Jeffrey David Lewine, PhD is a Professor of Translational Neuroscience, and the Director of Business Development at the MIND Research Network in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is also the Director of Neuroscience for Lovelace Scientific Resources; an adjunct associate professor in the departments of Psychology and Neurology at the University of New Mexico; the Director of Clinical Research for Cognionics Inc.; and the CEO of the Center for Advanced Diagnostics, Evaluation, and Therapeutics. Dr. Lewine received his doctorate in neuroscience in 1989 from the University of Rochester. Following completion of his graduate training, he was named a Director's Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he worked on the development of advanced brain imaging technologies. Dr. Lewine has previously directed functional brain imaging programs in New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, and Illinois, and his research uses advanced behavioral, psychophysical, imaging (MRI, fMRI, DTI, SPECT), and electrophysiological (EEG, MEG) methods to study brain structure and function in health and disease. Dr. Lewine evaluates human subjects and animal models to explore a wide range of clinical conditions including autism, dementia, epilepsy, reading disorders, schizophrenia, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. These investigations include the development and evaluation of novel therapies and biomedical countermeasures, and they have been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Dr. Lewine has directed functional brain imaging programs in New Mexico, Utah, Kansas and Illinois, and is the co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters.

Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tinnitus, Epilepsy, Neuro-Plasticity

Walter Bini has completed his diploma from Westminster School, Simsbury Conn. U.S.A. and got postgraduate degree from Universidad de Zaragoza , Facultad de Medicina, Zaragoza-Spain. Presently since 2014, Middle East Chairman of ISLASS. Active Member and Board Member of numerous international societies , among these : SAS, German Neurosurgical Society, AANS and the Skull Base Study Group. He was Head of Neurosurgery, Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital , UAQ-UAE from 2014-2016. Currently he is Consultant Neurosurgeon, Orthopedic Department, spine section of Lanzo Hospital COF, Lanzo d’Intelvi in Italy and also Visiting Consultant Neurosurgeon, Orthopedic Department of Healthpoint Hospital in Abu Dhabi - UAE

Micro neurosurgery, special interest and expertise in the management of head trauma, neurooncology, stereotaxy and radiosurgery, spinal surgery including less invasive techniques and neuroradiology

Dr. Miguel Angel Maroto Serrano is a Psychologist, Clinical and social Gerontology Expert in Active and Dementia Aging. He is the Coordinator and Professor of University Postgraduates Technical and Director of professional teams. He is the author of technical manuals on elderly people and dementias (8 works published by the Community of Madrid and Tea Editions)and Director and Manager at Clinical and Social Intervention Center and Ahoracentros

Psychology, Gerontology, Alzheimer's and Dementia

Lynne Hughes is vice president and global head of QuintilesIMS’ Neurology Center of Excellence (CoE), where she develops evidence-based strategies to conduct clinical programs for customers. She also leads the Autism CoE and the Acute Care and Pain CoE. Dr. Hughes has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, including 20 years at QuintilesIMS, and has worked both in Europe and the US. Lynne has worked exclusively in neurology while at QuintilesIMS and possesses expertise in all areas on Neurology, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, acute care and pain. Dr. Hughes has been involved in the clinical trial development of many of the neurological therapies on the market today. She is a member of a number of steering and executive committees for clients and has responsibility for several consultancy programs for investment opportunities within all areas of neurology. Dr. Hughes earned her bachelor’s degree in Medical Sciences from the University of Bradford in Bradford, England. She completed her Ph.D. in Oncology and Cancer Biology at the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, England, fully sponsored by Cancer Research UK. In addition, she is certified as a Project Management Professional.

Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuro-orphan diseases.

Dr. Drini DOBI was born in January 27th, 1969, and graduated as PhD in University of Tirana, Albania in 1992, and has done the specialization course in Neurology from 1994-1998 in University Hospital Centre "Mother Teresa", Tirana Albania. After his specialization, he has done some other minispecialization course for neurorehabilitation in Instituto Carlo Besta, Milano, Italy, San Carlo , Milan, Italy and Don Carlo Gnocchi Milano, Italy and minispecialization course for neurosonology in UHC "Sestre Milosrdnice" Zagreb, Croatia. He has a lot of publications in some medical periodics and has participated in some of AAN Annual Meetings with his works, EFNS and EAN conferences, with his works too, and some other Neurological Conferences abroad. His Masters is in Rehabilitation in Parkinson Disease, in 2005 and PhD in Physical Rehabilitation after stroke in 2015. He is also the Member of EAN Scientific Pannel of Neurorehabilitation ,Scientific Pannel of neurotoxicology, and General Neurology

Neurorehabilitation and Stroke

Pant received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from Agra University, Agra, India. His postdoctoral studies were conducted on the mechanisms of electron and ion transport in model membrane systems at the Department of Biophysics at Michigan State University. He joined the Laboratory of Neurobiology in the NIMH as a senior staff fellow in 1974 with Dr. Ichiji Tasaki where he studied the function of the axonal cytoskeleton in the squid giant axon. In 1979 he moved to the NIAAA extending his studies on the neuronal cytoskeleton and the effects of alcohol on its regulation. Dr. Pant moved to the NINDS, Laboratory of Neurochemistry in 1987 where he is presently chief of the section on Cytoskeleton Regulation. His laboratory is studying the mechanisms of topographic regulation of neuronal cytoskeleton proteins by post-translational modification, including the role of kinase cascades in normal brain and during neurodegeneration.

Parkinsion’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases

Ateeq Ahmad, Ph.D. is vice president for science & technology at Jina pharmaceuticals, Inc., USA. Prior to joining Jina in 2006, Dr. Ahmad worked at Neopharm, Inc., Pharmacia (Searle), Sanofi, J &J, Medarex, Biotherapeutics and National Institutes of Health. He has more than 30 years of experience in drug discovery, drug targeting, therapeutic proteins, immunotoxins, liposomes and clinical pharmacology. Currently, Dr. Ahmad is directing drug development program including safety assessment, efficacy evaluation and pharmacokinetics of drug candidates for cancer therapeutics and neurological disorders. He has authored 61 original articles in peer reviewed scientific journals.

Drug discovery, drug targeting, therapeutic proteins, immunotoxins, liposomes and clinical pharmacology

Sanjoy Sanyal is Associate Dean, Clinical Neuroscience Professor, Surgeon and Informatician in Texila American University, Guyana, South America. He holds double Master's degrees from India and UK. He has published more than 50 papers in print and online journals. He is a Neuroscience editor and peer-reviewer of WebmedCentral. He has posted more than 300 Neuroscience videos online, accompanied by his running commentaries. He is currently writing a Neuroscience book for medical students. He has presented papers in more than 10 international forums. He holds a provisional patent from USPTO on a computerized program for staging 26 human cancers.

Schizophrenia and Bipolar disorder

In 1993 Kerensa started her study nutrition and dietetics in Amsterdam. After finishing the bachelor in 1997, she continued with a master degree nutrition and food management at Huddersfield University in the UK. From 2000 until 2005 she worked as a PhD student at Wageningen University on the biophysics of unfolding, refolding and aggregation of food related proteins. Her first postdoctoral work was at the Medical Research Council – Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the Neurobiology department in Cambridge, UK. This work focused on fatty acid – a-synuclein interactions employing both biophysics and cell culture as research tools. Her second postdoc was at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) in Belgium where she started working on the role of amyloid beta peptide in Alzheimer’s disease. Here she also obtained an Odysseus grant from the Belgian government and, as a result of that, was offered a position as assistant professor. Kerensa moved to her current position as an assistant professor at the University of Twente in March 2011. She prefers to spend her spare time in the dojo doing karate, travelling, gardening or reading.

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, prion diseases

Dr. Hernández, Ph.D. has been studying traumatic brain injury (TBI) using basic and clinical neuroscience models since 1985. Her ongoing, extramurally funded research program assesses the degree to which recovery and functional outcome after TBI can be optimized in a variety of populations (Veterans, civilians, athletes). This includes conducting randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded trials of novel interventions, such as acupressure. This work is accomplished through her appointment as Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at CU Boulder, her appointment as a Senior Investigator and Research Psychologist in the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Rocky Mountain MIRECC (Mental Illness, Research, Education & Clinical Center) and through her role as one of the co-Directors of the PAPRR (Promoting Athlete Performance, Recovery and Resilience) Board at CU Boulder. She is also the Director of the CAIRR (Clinical Assessment of Injury, Recovery and Resilience) Neuroscience Laboratory.

Research is aimed at providing an experimental basis for improving clinical treatment following brain insult so that neurobehavioral function is optimized. We are currently accomplishing this via two tracks: one aimed at the initial post-injury period and a second focusing on the stable post-insult period

Dean Faculty of Pain Medicine 2015 – 2018. Consultant and Medical Director Pain Medicine, St. James’ Hospital, Dublin. Primary Investigator, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin. Editor: BJA; Continuing Medical Education. Pain Clinic, Blackrock Clinic 2004 – date. Graduated RCSI 1988. Trained in Ireland, UK and Karolinska Institute, Stockholm and Lund University Hospital, Sweden.

Spinal Neuronal,Chronic Pain, Cancer Pain

Hans von Holst received his Medical Doctor´s degree in 1976 and specialist in Neurosurgery 1982 at Karolinska University Hospital. In 1985 he earned his PhD and Associate Professorship in Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet. During 1991-1996 he was appointed as Chairman of the Dept of Neurosurgery and Division Manager of the Neuroclinics at Karolinska University Hospital, respectively. In 1995 he became Professor in Neuroengineering at the Royal Institute of Technology. He has published around 140 original papers in reputed journals, reviews and books and has been serving as an editorial board member in several journals.

traumatic brain injury and stroke

Ru-Rong Ji, Ph.D., is a professor of anesthesiology. He also serves as chief of pain research in the Department of Anesthesiology. He previously was an associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, before joining the Duke faculty in 2012. His research focuses on molecular and cellular mechanisms of chronic pain, such as inflammatory pain, neuropathic pain, and cancer pain. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to demonstrating critical roles of MAP kinase signaling pathways and glial cells in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. His recent work has demonstrated powerful antinociceptive actions of pro-resolution lipid mediators (e.g., resolvins). Dr. Ji lectures internationally and reviews papers for numerous international journals. He also serves on National Institutes of Health review panels and the editorial boards of Pain, Neuroscience, and Neuroscience Bulletin. Dr. Ji earned a Ph.D. in neurobiology at Shanghai Institute of Physiology and completed postdoctoral training at Peking (Beijing) University Medical School, Karolinska Institute, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He later joined Massachusetts General Hospital as an instructor.

Inflammatory pain, neuropathic pain, and cancer pain

After his BSc Honours and an MSc in theoretical mathematics, Professor Toro obtained a PhD in computational mathematics applied to fluid dynamics. Since then, much of his research has been centred on the numerical analysis of partial differential equations and aerospace, industrial, environmental and medical applications. He is author of almost 300 works and has received several awards, including two honorary doctorates and the honorary title OBE from her majesty The Queen Elizabeth II. Prof. Toro’s current research is focused on the bio-physics of neurological diseases and their potential link to venous haemodynamics and transport across the blood vessel wall

Neurodegenerative diseases

Mark S. Kindy, Ph.D. is Professor of Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson University, Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina, Adjunct Professor of Management and Entreprenurialism, School of Business, College of Charleston. He received his BA in zoology from the University of Massachusetts in 1980. Dr. Kindy received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Boston University School of Medicine from 1982-1987. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Salk Institute from 1987-1989 in Molecular Biology and Virology. From 1989-2002, Dr. Kindy was a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky and rose from Assistant Professor to Full Professor. Dr. Kindy is currently the Admiral Pihl Endowed Professor in the Department of Neurosciences. Dr. Kindy is also a Research Career Scientist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston. Dr. Kindy has served on many NIH, AHA, AA review panels, has reviewed for many journals and is currently on the editorial board of 10 journals. Dr. Kindy has over 140 peer reviewed publications and is funded by the NIH, VA , NSF and several foundations.

Neurological disorders

Dr. Hernández, Ph.D. has been studying traumatic brain injury (TBI) using basic and clinical neuroscience models since 1985. Her ongoing, extramurally funded research program assesses the degree to which recovery and functional outcome after TBI can be optimized in a variety of populations (Veterans, civilians, athletes). This includes conducting randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded trials of novel interventions, such as acupressure. This work is accomplished through her appointment as Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at CU Boulder, her appointment as a Senior Investigator and Research Psychologist in the Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Rocky Mountain MIRECC (Mental Illness, Research, Education & Clinical Center) and through her role as one of the co-Directors of the PAPRR (Promoting Athlete Performance, Recovery and Resilience) Board at CU Boulder. She is also the Director of the CAIRR (Clinical Assessment of Injury, Recovery and Resilience) Neuroscience Laboratory.

ur clinically-based program of research is aimed at providing an experimental basis for improving clinical treatment following brain insult so that neurobehavioral function is optimized. We are currently accomplishing this via two tracks: one aimed at the initial post-injury period and a second focusing on the stable post-insult period.

Chris Gamblin completed his PhD with Dr. Robley Williams, Jr. at Vanderbilt University and postdoctoral studies with Dr. Skip Binder at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Kansas and continues to investigate the biochemical mechanisms of tau aggregation.

Dr Davide V Moretti is consultant neurologist, chief of the clinical neurophysiology service and researcher at the National Institute of Research and Cure for Mental disorders and Dementia S john of God, Brescia, Italy. He received his medical degree from Catholic University in Rome and completed his residency in neurology and fellowship in movement disorders at University of Trieste, Italy. Moreover, he received the PhD in neurophysiology at La Sapienza University (thesis title “ Quantitative EEG in Alzheimer's disease”). Dr Moretti is currently involved in research and care of subjects with Alzheimers disease and dementia in the Memory Clinic/Alzheimer Operative Unit of the S. John of God Institute. Moreover, he is the chief of the clinical neurophysiology unit. His research is primary concerned about quantitative EEG evaluation of Alzheimer's patients both in prodromic and clinically evident phase of the disease.

Alzheimers disease and dementia

Dr Wayne Grant Carter received his Honours degree and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Southampton, studying protein post-translational modification and molecular signalling cascades. He is currently a Group Leader in the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, with research focused upon protein post-translational modification and molecular mechanisms of hepato- and neuro-toxicity.

Rocco de Filippis completed his MD and PhD from Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. Investigator Meeting (Western Europe and North America) for BRENDA/pharmacological Study on Nalmefene (LUNDBECK - pharmaceutical company). Barcellona (Spagna) . He holds a Master’s degree and he improved respectively in Bipolar Disorders and Addictive behavior in the years 2011/2012. He currently works and at the Institute of Psychopathology - Rome as a Psychiatrist and Addictive Medicine, and up to now presented as scientific coordinator of CME and Master of Addictive Behaviors; he currently publishes on Bipolar Disorders with high specialization on rapid cycling;he is also an official candidate at the Psychoanalytic Italian Society of the First Italian Center of Rome, and member of IPSO (International Psychoanalytic Studies Organization). He had a oral speech at Translational Medicine 2014 in Las Vegas on QTc Prolungation and Psychotropic Drugs.

AJA Groffen has completed his PhD at the age of 29 years from the University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands and performed postdoctoral studies at the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. He was appointed Assistant Professor at the dept. of Clinical Genetics (section Functional Genomics) at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals.

movement disorders, epilepsies, cognitive and autism-related disorders

HND qualification at Cambridge Polytechnical College, Cambridge, UK (1971), Honour’s degree (Psychology and Physiology) at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University (1974), and PhD, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (1979), Astra Läkemedel AB ( Head of CNS Drugs), Professor and Chair of Biological Psychology, Head of Department and Dean of Faculty, Visiting Professor at: University of Hawaii at Manoa, Örebro University, Karlstad University, Kalmar University, Madrid University, Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award from St. Joseph’s College, North Point; Honorary Doctorship and Professorship (Polish Academy of Science Pharmacological Society), Sansone Award, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

laboratory models of neurocritical care, arousal from coma, cardiac arrest, electrophysiology, neuropharmacology, orexin, global cerebral ischemia, neuroplasticity, neural monitoring devices, translational research, clinical trials

Weidong Le, MD, PhD, is a neurologist/neuroscientist with the major research interest in neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. His research focus is cellular and molecular basis of neuronal injury in these neurodegenerative diseases. He was a Professor in Baylor College of Medicine and since 2013 he has been appointed as a Director of Center for Translational Research of Neurology Disease, and Vice President of 1st Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University. He has published over 185 SCI papers in peer review journals and 7 scientific books.

Brain Imaging, Neuropsychiatry

Dr. Toborek has completed his MD and PhD from the Silesian Medical University, Poland, and completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Kentucky. He is the Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Research in Dr. Toborek’s laboratory has been focused on several aspects of vascular biology. Specific interest involves studies on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and how different pathological conditions can lead to the disruption and/or dysfunction of the BBB. He has published numerous manuscripts related to this field and has been serving as an editorial board member of many journals.

Dr. Toborek’s laboratory involve studies on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and how different pathological conditions can lead to the disruption and/or dysfunction of the BBB.

Dr. Othman Ghribi is an Associate professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, USA. He obtained his PHD degree in Neuropharmacology from Rene Descartes University, Paris, France in 1994. He published four book chapters, invited review papers and has more than 50 publications in different peer reviewed journals. Dr. Ghribi holds grants from the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence and the National Institute of Environmental health Sciences/The National Institute of Health. Dr Ghribi obtained the Alzheimers and Related Diseases Research Award from the Virginia Center on Aging as well as the Dean David Wilson Academic Award in Neuroscience from the University of North Dakota.

Othman Ghribis Interests include role of the diet and environmental factors in Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases, Tyrosine hydroxylase, alpha-synuclein, LXRs, Estrogen receptors, Oxysterols, Endoplasmic reticulum stress, Apoptosis, IGF-1, Leptin.

Dr. F.W. van Leeuwen, PhD is a neuroscientist with over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers to his name. His team works at the University Maastricht. He was trained as a neurobiologist and obtained his PhD degree in 1980. After branching out into the field of molecular neurobiology in the nineties, he discovered a new mechanism, dubbed molecular misreading; the inaccurate conversion of genomic information into aberrant transcripts and mutant proteins (e.g. mutant ubiquitin B, UBB+1). These appeared to be present in the hallmarks (e.g. plaques and tangles) of sporadic Alzheimer and Down syndrome patients, but not in young non-demented controls. This was the cover story of Science 279, January 9th, 1998. The message is that the mutant proteins accumulate and contribute to neuronal dysfunctioning, e.g. by inhibiting the ubiquitin-proteasome system. This article has been named a “milestone paper”, and Dr. van Leeuwen has been invited to participate in an Alzheimer-100 book because it was 100 years ago that Dr. Alzheimer published his first article on the disease.

Neurodegenerative disorders,Down syndrome,Alzheimer’s disease

Professor Nazıroğlu has graduated from Veterinary Faculty, Fırat University (FU) at 1991 and he received his PhD (Physiology) in FU (1992-1996). Currently, he is working as Heads of Departments of Biophysics and Neurosciences in Suleyman Demirel University (SDU), Medical Faculty. As chair of congress, he organized 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th biennale International Congress in Cell Membrane and Oxidative Stress: Focus on Calcium Signaling and TRP channels since 2006, Isparta, Turkey. (www.cmos.org.tr). He is serving as an editorial member of several reputed journals like ‘Biological Trace Element Research’. He is also review editor in Frontiers in Membrane Physiology and Biophysics. He authored 188 international research and 11 review articles and 2852 citations in SCI-Thompson and 6 international book chapters. He has honored as NATO Research Fellowship, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Saale, Germany, (1999-2000), ‘Young Investigative Scientist Award (2001), UC-Berkeley, USA, Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Research fellowship owner (2002-2005), Medical Faculty, RWTH-Aachen, Germany, Encouragement Award of Scientific and Tech. Res. Council (TUBITAK), Ankara, Turkey (2006), Howard Hudges Medical Institute (USA) support (2009) and Khwarizmi International Award (2012).

Epilepsy

Piotr Lewczuk heads the Laboratory for Clinical Neurochemistry and Neurochemical Dementia Diagnostics at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Universitatsklinikum Erlangen. This lab is one of the mostly internationally recognized European leading centers for neurochemical diagnosis of dementia. The Laboratory is one of the five world-wide reference centers, together with the laboratories in Göteborg (S), Amsterdam (NL), Ghent (B), and Philadelphia (USA), in the Alzheimers Association supported project on CSF biomarkers international quality control. He is a member of the Steering Committee of this project. For more than ten years he has been working on diagnostic and research aspects of the CSF, including a large panel of neurologic and psychiatric disorders with a particular scope on neurodegenerating conditions, like Alzheimers disease.In 2004, he obtained the Certificate of Expertise from the German Society of Clinical Neurochemistry, to become one of seventy certified clinical neurochemists in Germany, and currently he is a member of the Extended Board of the German Society of Clinical Neurochemistry. Dr Lewczuk is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Alzheimer Diagnostic and Therapy Center at the Medical University of Wroclaw Poland in Scinawa and a consultant of a worldwide leading diagnostic biotech company Innogenetics Ghent Belgium.