Founder & Chairman, Powering Precision Health Summit , Executive Chairman & CEO, Quanterix, Disruptive Innovation Leader in Life Sciences & Health, Board of Directors: Cellaria, 908 Devices, BioreclamationIVT
Dr. Ramon Diaz-Arrastia
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Presidential Professor
Director of Clinical Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Dr. Lauren Byrne
Institute of Neurology, University College London
Research Fellow at UCL Huntington’s disease centre
Tyler Shultz
Flux Biosciences, Inc.
CEO
Dr. Irina Banzola
Researcher
University of Zurich (Switzerland)
Dr. Justin M. Balko
Vanderbilt University
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Dr. Mathieu Rodero
Université Paris Descartes
Chemistry & Biology, Modeling & Immunology for Therapy " (CBMIT)
Dr. Joel B. Braunstein
C2N Diagnostics,
LifeTech Research (LTR),
Co-Founder, President and CEO,
Founder and Managing Director
Dr. Mariaelena Pierobon
George Mason University
Associate Professor at the School of System Biology and Center for Applied
Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM)
Dr. Simina Ticau
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Senior Scientist
Dr. Andrew Beard
Siemens Healthineers
Head of Business Development and Companion Diagnostics, Molecular Services US
Dr. Stephanie Traub
Centre for Drug Development, Cancer Research UK
Research in Biomarkers, Oncology and Clinical Trials
Dr. Sen Liu
China Neurodegenerative Disease Association
Secretary-General
Dr. Mark Eccleston
Volition
OncoLytika Ltd.
Scientific Founder and Business Development Director, Founder and Managing Director
Professor Elisabeth Thijssen
Amsterdam UMC
PhD researcher at the Neurochemistry Department
William Hagstrom
Octave Bioscience
CEO, Founder
Dr. Steven P. Piccoli
GSK
In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)
Senior Director in Precision Medicine and Companion Diagnostics
Head of Clinical Biomarkers, and Oncology
Koen Dewaele
ADx Neurosciences
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Dr. Sophie Trouillet-Assant
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Dr. Gregor Lotz
Roche Pharma
Principal Scientist
Dr. Ellen Puré
University of Pennsylvania
Grace Lansing Lambert Professor
Chair of Biomedical Sciences
Professor of Systems Pharmacology
Translational Therapeutics
Professor Kaj Blennow
University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Professor and Academic Chair in Neurochemistry,
Head of the Clinical Neurochemistry Lab,
Torsten Söderberg Professorship
Dr. Sara Mariotto
University of Verona, Italy
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences
Professor Deniz Kirik
Lund University
Professor
Dr. Rany Aburashed
Memorial Healthcare Hospital
Chief of Neurology and the Director of Multiple Sclerosis
Professor Robert Perneczky
LMU Munich
Head of Division of Mental Health in Older Adults and Alzheimer Therapy and Research Center
Dr. Andrea Malaspina
Neuroscience and Trauma Centre, Blizard, Institute of Cell and Molecular Medicine, Barts & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Barts Health NHS Trust
Reader in Clinical Neurology and Consultant Neurologist, Director North-East London and Essex MND Care Centre
Patrick Sullivan
Childhood Cancer Canada
Chairman of the Board
Childhood Cancer Advocate
Dr. Roberto Furlan
Institute of Experimental Neurology - INSpe, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute
Head of Clinical Neuroimmunology Unit
Dr. John Smeraglia
UCB Biopharma
Senior Director of Translational Biomarkers and Bioanalysis
Dr. Mark Frasier
Research Programs
Senior Vice President
Professor Rudolf Oehler
Medical University Vienna
Professor
Dr. Denes V. Agoston
Uniformed Services University (USU), Bethesda, MD.
Professor at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics
Dr. Laure-Anne Ventouras
McKinsey & Company
Associate Partner
Dr. Ari Vanderwalde
West Cancer Center and Research Institute
Director of Clinical Research
Fellow of the American College of Physicians
Dr. Thomas Joos
Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI)
Deputy Managing Director at the University of Tübingen,
Co-Founder, Signatope GMBH
Professor Henrik Zetterberg
University of Gothenburg
Professor of Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and University College London, UK
Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Dr. Jens Kuhle
University Hospital Basel
Head Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research
Dr. Andrew Nixon
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Associate Professor in Medicine
Dr. Maribeth Raines
President of MBBB Solutions
Professor David Leppert
University of Basel
Department of Neurology, Associate Professor
Kevin Hrusovsky
Quanterix
Founder & Chairman, Powering Precision Health Summit , Executive Chairman & CEO, Quanterix, Disruptive Innovation Leader in Life Sciences & Health, Board of Directors: Cellaria, 908 Devices, BioreclamationIVT
Kevin Hrusovsky founded the Powering Precision Health Summit, in 2016, and Revolutionaries for Global Health, in 2002, to fulfill his vision for transforming medicine from reactive "sick care" to proactive and preventative healthcare Kevin is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quanterix, and serves on the Board of Directors of several other disruptive technology companies that are aligned with his mission to transform medicine and healthcare. Quanterix has grown rapidly under his leadership and raised over $60M in multiple funding rounds. Prior to Quanterix, Hrusovsky was President of PerkinElmer Life Sciences, CEO of Caliper Life Sciences (sold to PerkinElmer for $650M), and CEO of Zymark Corporation (sold for $100M). In those roles, more than ten disruptive technology companies were acquired and numerous "game changing" products and technologies were launched, increasing their valuation exponentially by billions. Hrusovsky currently serves on (or has served on) the Board of Directors of Quanterix, Cell Signaling Technology, BioreclamationIVT (Arsenal Capital), 908 Devices, Xenogen, Seracare, SynapDx and Solect Energy. He has also served on the Educational Board of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the Advisory Committee for the Center for Biomedical Engineering at Brown University, the Association for Laboratory Automation, Editorial Board, and the Strategy Committee of Childrens Hospital Boston. Kevin received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University and M.B.A. from Ohio University. He was named the 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year from Ohio State University and holds an Honorary Doctorate degree from Framingham State University for his contributions in life sciences and personalized medicine.
Dr. Ramon Diaz-Arrastia
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Presidential Professor
Director of Clinical Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Dr. Diaz-Arrastia is Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the TBI Clinical Research Initiative. His research interests are focused on understanding the molecular, cellular, and tissue level mechanisms of neuronal injury and neuroregeneration, with the goal of developing therapies for neurotrauma. Dr. Diaz-Arrastia received his MD and PhD degrees from Baylor College of Medicine, and completed post-graduate training at Harvard and Columbia. Prior to coming to Penn, he served on the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Diaz-Arrastia has published over 200 primary research papers, as well as over 40 invited reviews and book chapters. He has also served in several national committees related to brain injury research and practice, convened by the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Veterans Administration.
Dr. Lauren Byrne
Institute of Neurology, University College London
Research Fellow at UCL Huntington’s disease centre
Lauren is a Research Fellow at the UCL Huntington’s disease centre based within the Institute of Neurology, University College London. She studied Biology at Imperial College London, graduating in 2014 and completed an MRes in Translational Neurology at UCL Institute of Neurology in 2015. During her masters she worked on her first project in HD research, focusing on neuroimaging biomarkers. After completing her masters, she began working as a research assistant with Dr Ed Wild, establishing and managing a HD biofluid collection called the HD-CSF study. Her PhD thesis focused on developing biofluid biomarkers for HD. Most notably, her work on neurofilament light protein in blood was published in 2017 in the Lancet Neurology and received a ‘HD Insight of the year’ award from the Huntington Study group. Recently, she became the 2019 winner of the prestigious HDSA Berman-Topper Postdoctoal Research fellowship and she will continue to further the field of sensitive biofluid biomarkers for HD. Lauren is also passionate about HD advocacy and regularly gives research updates to the HD patient and family community. She is also the social media editor of the Journal of Huntington’s Disease and sits on the boards of two HD charities.
Tyler Shultz
Flux Biosciences, Inc.
CEO
Tyler Shultz is an entrepreneur fostering innovation in healthcare. He graduated from Stanford with a Biology degree and entered the national scene when he courageously blew the whistle at Theranos. Tyler complained to the public health regulators in New York and was a source for a series of Wall Street Journal articles exposing Theranos’ dubious blood-testing practices. Owing to his role in exposing the fraud, Shultz was featured in Bad Blood, the book about the scandal penned by John Carreyrou, the original author of the Wall Street Journal articles, as well as in Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary “The Inventor”. Currently, Shultz is the CEO and Co-Founder of Flux Biosciences, Inc., a bay-area start-up. Flux Biosciences aims to bring medical grade diagnostics into the homes of consumers by using cutting-edge technology to measure biomarkers related to stress, exercise, and fertility. His efforts were recognized by Forbes when he was named to their “30 under 30” Health Care 2017 list.
Dr. Irina Banzola
Researcher
University of Zurich (Switzerland)
As researchers from the University of Zurich (Switzerland) with a long-standing expertise in
cancer research, Dr Banzola developed a strong desire to touch the life of patients by
designing assays that can improve their quality of life. She believes that the development of
non-invasive diagnostic tests is of pivotal importance for the healthcare industry. By
avoiding additional pain and distress, in fact, patients with severe illnesses can focus their
energy on fighting the disease and on their well-being. The team of ONtrack Diagnostics is
currently working on the development of a urine test for the screening of prostate cancer.
Advanced prostate tumors are mostly uncurable, thus the early detection of neoplastic
lesions is key in ensuring high chances of success in the treatment of the disease. ONtrack
Diagnostics has identified a panel of biomarkers in urines that increases the specificity of the
current screening methods, thus reducing the number of men who unnecessarily undergo
prostate biopsies. Given the rarity of prostate cancer material in urines, the
implementation of ultra-sensitive technologies will be key for the development of future,
non-invasive in-vitro diagnostics tests, as potential game-changer in the clinical
management of patients.
Dr. Justin M. Balko
Vanderbilt University
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Justin M. Balko obtained his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2004. After completion of his PhD in the Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics track of the Pharmaceutical Sciences program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY, he joined the laboratory of Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, in 2009 as a postdoctoral research fellow. Dr. Balko was appointed as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology in January of 2015 and also serves as Leader of Molecular Oncology for the Center for Cancer Targeted Therapeutics (C2T2). He has published approximately 80 papers in the field of molecular oncology and translational oncology research, primarily in the breast cancer field. His laboratory focuses on identifying biomarkers and mechanisms of drug sensitivity or resistance in breast cancer and other tumor types, ways to enhance response rates to immunotherapy by targeting cancer-specific signals of immune suppression, and the biological mechanisms of immune-related adverse events to immunotherapies. His laboratory receives funding from the NIH/NCI, the Department of Defense, The IBC Network Foundation, the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, The Mary Kay Foundation, Stand Up 2 Cancer/AACR, and Susan G. Komen. He is currently a correlative sciences Principal Investigator on several breast cancer trials employing combinations of molecularly-targeted agents with immunotherapy.
Dr. Mathieu Rodero
Université Paris Descartes
Chemistry & Biology, Modeling & Immunology for Therapy " (CBMIT)
Experienced researcher, I have been studying immunology in various models of mice and human inflammatory diseases. Inspired by my recent work on human interferonopathies, a set of diseases characterised by miss regulated and sustained production of type I interferon, I have decided in 2018 to join the team of “Chemistry, Biology, Modelling and Immunology for Therapy” in order to foster the development of new therapy and diagnosis tools for these conditions. Our projects, based on a collaborative, multidisciplinary and translational approaches combine access to state of the art technology to material of patients with rare disease.
Dr. Joel B. Braunstein
C2N Diagnostics,
LifeTech Research (LTR),
Co-Founder, President and CEO,
Founder and Managing Director
Dr. Braunstein is a board-certified cardiologist and internist, and has been CEO of C2N Diagnostics since its inception. Dr. Braunstein has co-founded and played a senior executive role in numerous emerging life sciences companies. He is a Founder and Managing Director of LifeTech Research (LTR) since 2004. Beside C2N and LTR, he currently serves as a corporate director at Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals, NexGen Medical Systems, and Correx. Dr. Braunstein received his M.D. with highest distinction from Northwestern University Medical School in 1996. Subsequently, he trained in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School until 1999, and as a Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson National Clinical Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Additionally, he completed an MBA with management focus in 2004 and maintained an Assistant Professor cardiology faculty position at Johns Hopkins University. He remains an advisor to the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business and serves on the Commercial Advisory Board for University of Maryland Ventures. In 2010, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Mariaelena Pierobon
George Mason University
Associate Professor at the School of System Biology and Center for Applied
Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM)
Dr. Pierobon is an Associate Professor at the School of Systems Biology at George Mason
University. Dr. Pierobon received her Medical Degree from the University of Padova, Italy, and a
Master’s in Public Health from George Mason University. Her work utilizes high-throughput
technologies to explore functional signaling networks in tumorigenesis and response to
treatment. Dr. Pierobon has participated in the design and implementation of precision
medicine clinical trials for metastatic breast, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers where “multi-
Omic” molecular information is used for selecting tailored treatments for cancer patients. Dr.
Pierobon’s work has yielded more than 40 peer-review publications and presentations to
national and international meetings. In 2019, she served a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
Dr. Simina Ticau
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Senior Scientist
Simina Ticau is a Senior Scientist working in Translational Research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals based in Cambridge MA. In her role, she focuses on basic research in support of multiple late stage clinical programs with an emphasis on novel biomarker discovery across diseases. Simina has worked in a range of scientific disciplines applying novel techniques to understand various biological systems. She received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Andrew Beard
Siemens Healthineers
Head of Business Development and Companion Diagnostics, Molecular Services US
Dr. Stephanie Traub
Centre for Drug Development, Cancer Research UK
Research in Biomarkers, Oncology and Clinical Trials
Stephanie completed her PhD in the Faculty of Immunology at University of Konstanz. Following that, she worked for 6 years in academia as a Postdoc in France and at Imperial College London. After this, she joined Medimmune in Cambridge UK and then Quotient Bioresearch, where she led projects in both Biomarker and assay development and translational medicine across multiple therapeutic areas. In 2014 Stephanie joined the Centre for Drug Development at Cancer Research UK where she is responsible for the delivery of pharmacodynamic Biomarkers and patient enrichment strategies for early phase oncology trials. She designs Biomarker strategies for novel first in class agents, across multiple modalities and different cancer types
Dr. Sen Liu
China Neurodegenerative Disease Association
Secretary-General
Dr. Sen Liu graduated from Xi'an Medical University in China and
completed his residency as an ophthalmologist. After the
fellowship training at Wills Eye Hospital of Thomas Jefferson
University in USA, Dr. Sen Liu returned to China and worked
shortly in Peking University, and then, enter industry. Working
together with the scientists of Innogentics N.V. (a Belgium biotech
company), Dr. Sen Liu was one of the pioneers in China in the
research on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics, and
he has been also working actively in the field of new drug
discovery for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Sen Liu was a member of China-Germany Biotechnology
Steering Committee, and he is one of the founders of ADx
Neuroscience N.V. In the past six years, Dr. Sen Liu has
supervised several multi-center studies on new biomarkers for
Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics, and organized an international
team working on the development of next generation diagnostic
instruments for precision medicine and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Mark Eccleston
Volition
OncoLytika Ltd.
Scientific Founder and Business Development Director, Founder and Managing Director
Mark is an enthusiastic and passionate biotechnology entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in the sector. He holds a PhD in Polymer Chemistry for biomedical applications and a degree in chemistry. He was one of the first BBSRC funded scientists to complete the Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship Schemes run by Scottish Enterprise and was awarded an MBA (entrepreneurship) from the University of Dundee in 2008. Mark is a scientific founder and Business Development Director at Volition, where he coordinates clinical collaborations, in-licensing of antibodies and out-licensing of Volition’s proprietary Nucleosomics™ technology platform, most recently for a range of research use kits through exclusive partner Active Motif.
Volition is developing the next generation of blood-based diagnostics for early stage detection of cancer and Mark coordinates a number of close collaborations with hardware and platform providers as well as clinical diagnostic companies with complimentary technologies. Mark is also the founder and Managing Director of OncoLytika Ltd. a technical consultancy company operating mainly in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.
Professor Elisabeth Thijssen
Amsterdam UMC
PhD researcher at the Neurochemistry Department
Elisabeth Thijssen is a PhD researcher at the Neurochemistry department, Amsterdam UMC. She has
a bachelor degree in Biomedical sciences and a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical sciences. Her
research focuses on blood-based biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases and their relation to
imaging biomarkers. Her goal is to develop a blood-test that can differentiate Alzheimer’s disease.
Implementation of blood-biomarkers and collaboration with internal and external parties such as
imaging groups, medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies are important in Elisabeth’s work.
Elisabeth has developed several assays to measure amyloid and tau, and performed exploratory
studies using plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, tissue and iPSC cells. She conducted part of her research at
UCSF, San Francisco where she focused on the tau protein and tested the clinical value of
phosphorylated tau in plasma. For this she received the Rainwater Foundation Tau consortium
fellowship.
William Hagstrom
Octave Bioscience
CEO, Founder
Bill has more than 25 years of start-up experience in a broad range of medical specialties intersecting science, technology, clinical medicine, and business strategy. Prior to founding Octave Bioscience, he served as the CEO of Crescendo Bioscience which created novel measurement tools and software in the field of rheumatology. Prior to this, he was the President of Alpha BioPartners, a strategic consulting firm advising the launch of new life sciences companies. While at Alpha BioPartners, Bill created the business plan for Crescendo and co-founded Altheus Therapeutics and Biolytx Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he served as the initial CEO of Selexys Pharmaceuticals and interim CEO of Inoveon in ophthalmology. In the 1990s, Bill was Chairman and CEO of UroCor, a urology specialty diagnostics company which he scaled from start-up through IPO. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President of Baxter International’s $1.0 billion Scientific Products Division and held management positions at the American Hospital Supply and Becton Dickinson. He currently serves on the board of directors for CareDx, Navican, Genalyte and CoFactor. Previously he was on the board of Prometheus Laboratories. Bill holds a BS in Business Management from Bob Jones University.
Dr. Steven P. Piccoli
GSK
In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)
Senior Director in Precision Medicine and Companion Diagnostics
Head of Clinical Biomarkers, and Oncology
Dr. Piccoli is a recognized international expert in clinical biomarkers with extensive contributions
to in vitro diagnostics (IVD) and clinical chemistry. He joined GSK in 2018 as Head, Clinical Biomarkers,
Oncology, and is currently Senior Director in Precision Medicine and Companion Diagnostics. Prior, he
has successfully led clinical and analytical teams in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and
medical/companion diagnostics industries at Novartis, J&J;, and BMS, and founded three biotechnology
companies including a CLIA regulated CRO to conduct medical device trials and accelerate IVD
submissions to the FDA. In addition, he has served on the Medical Devices Panel in Immunology of the
FDA (CDRH) and is engaged in public/private partnerships (Critical Path Institute, Predictive Safety
Testing Consortium, FNIH, Biomarkers Consortium, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, and Bill
Gates Catalyst 3), and is senior author of the C-Path white paper to advance and harmonize scientific
and regulatory aspects of biomarker qualification for regulatory submissions.
Koen Dewaele
ADx Neurosciences
Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Koen Dewaele holds a MSc degree in Biology from the University of Ghent.
He has more than 30 years of experience in medical diagnostics in different
In Vitro Diagnostic companies. He worked for Innogenetics from 1999 till 2011 where he held several
positions but could excel most when leading the pioneering Alzheimer
program as a director. He has a good understanding of the market needs,
opportunities, the business and the science which helps him to decide on
the best strategy forward. In 2011, he left Innogenetics to co-found with 3 other colleagues and the
University of Leuven ADx NeuroSciences. Koen leads as CEO the company
which focuses on the development of novel markers for use in
neurodegenerative diseases as tools for advancing drug development or as
diagnostic tools in clinical practice. He is convinced that the R&D
collaborations of ADx NeuroSciences with academic centers, pharmaceutical
and diagnostic companies will contribute to finding a solution for
devastating neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease.
Dr. Sophie Trouillet-Assant
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Sophie Trouillet-Assant has specialized in host response during infectious disease. She pursued her PhD at the Center International de Recherche en Infectiologie (Lyon, France), working on bone and joint infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Since 2016, she is the lab director of a research unit in an university hospital centre (Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France) aiming to perform immunomonitoring, using innovative tools, of immunocompromized patients. Since December 2018, we have obtained SIMOA to evaluate new host biomarkers to discriminate viral and bacterial infections in febrile patients. Sophie Trouillet-Assant authored over 30 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Dr. Gregor Lotz
Roche Pharma
Principal Scientist
Gregor Lotz, PhD, is Principal Scientist in the department of “Large Molecule Bioanalytical Sciences 1”
at Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), Roche Innovation Center Munich
(Germany). He joined Roche Pharma 2013, coming from Novartis. Since then he worked in Large
Molecule Research and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In his current position, his focus is on large molecule
bioanalysis, biomarker and immunogenicity testing. Gregor is responsible for the provision of
bioanalytical testing strategies and has been involved in several projects of cancer immune-therapeutic
proteins and antibodies from preclinical up to clinical late stages. Gregor is a biologist and received his
PhD from Tuebingen University in Germany. He was a postdoctoral fellow in protein folding and
diseases at the Gladstone Research Institute/UCSF in San Francisco. He has authored/co-authored
numerous peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Ellen Puré
University of Pennsylvania
Grace Lansing Lambert Professor
Chair of Biomedical Sciences
Professor of Systems Pharmacology
Translational Therapeutics
Ellen Puré, Ph.D. is Grace Lansing Lambert Professor and Chair of Biomedical Sciences and
Professor of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics at the University of
Pennsylvania. Dr. Puré received her Baccalaureate degree from Washington University in St.
Louis, and her doctorate at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School. She trained as
a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellow and Leukemia Society Special Fellow and
then joined the Faculty at the Rockefeller University. In 1992 Dr. Puré moved to Philadelphia
where she was on the Faculty of the Wistar Institute until moving to the University of Pennsylvania
in 2013. Dr. Puré’s research focuses on the cellular and molecular basis of inflammation and
fibrosis. She studies basic mechanisms involved in these processes and the contribution of these
processes to fibrotic diseases and cancer. Her laboratory has made seminal contributions to our
understanding of the roles of stromal cells and extracellular matrix remodeling in tissue fibrosis
and in cancer risk, initiation, progression and metastasis. Her lab is developing novel therapeutic
approaches to target stroma to treat fibrosis and cancer.
Professor Kaj Blennow
University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Professor and Academic Chair in Neurochemistry,
Head of the Clinical Neurochemistry Lab,
Torsten Söderberg Professorship
Kaj Blennow is MD, and holds a Specialist Competence in General Psychiatry and in Clinical Chemistry. He is Professor and Academic Chair in Neurochemistry at Univ. of Gothenburg, and Head of the Clinical Neurochemistry Lab at Sahlgrenska Univ. Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. He holds the Torsten Söderberg Professorship at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Having published more than 1000 original research papers, 150 review articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has an H-index of 120. He is President of the Society for CSF analysis and Clinical Neurochemistry, head of the Alzheimer’s Association QC program for CSF biomarkers and Chair of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) working group on CSF proteins. Awards include The CINP Award(1992), the IPA Research Award(1993), the Alois Alzheimer Research Award(2001), the ECNP Clinical Research Award(2010), the Henry Wisniewski Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer’s Disease Research(2011), the The International Foundation for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease European Grand Prix in Research(2013), the Söderberg Price in Medicine at the Swedish Society for Medicine(2016), and the Nordic Prize in Medicine(2017).
Dr. Sara Mariotto
University of Verona, Italy
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences
Sara Mariotto graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 2010 at the University of Verona, with a thesis entitled “Study of the
Cingolate Anterior Cortex in Frontotemporal Dementia” obtaining a score of 110/110 cum laude. In
July 2016 she specialised in Neurology with a thesis entitled “Diagnostic role of serum anti-myelin
oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies in patients with suspected neuromyelitis optica
seronegative for anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies” obtaining a score of 70/70 cum laude. She then
attended the PhD program in neuroscience at the University Hospital of Verona, Italy between
September 2016 and September 2019. Her research areas include neuroimmunology,
neurodegenerative disorders, neuroinfectivology, neuropathology and peripheral nerve diseases.
Her principal field of interest is the study of autoimmune/paraneoplastic encephalitis and
encephalomyelitis. During her fellowship at the Clinical Department of Neurology, Medical
University of Innsbruck (March-October 2017) she studied antibody-mediated disorders of the CNS
under the supervision of Prof. Markus Reindl, learning anti-MOG antibodies detection/IgG subclass
analysis with cell based assay, peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolation and the detection of
cytokines in serum and CSF with ELISA. She also spent a period (October 2017) at the Institute of
Neurology, Medical University of Vienna learning new techniques for the diagnosis of autoimmune
encephalitis, under the supervision of Prof. Romana Höftberger.
Professor Deniz Kirik
Lund University
Professor
Professor Deniz Kirik MD, PhD is one of the leading investigators in the field of neurodegenerative diseases with special focus on translational studies and development of cell and gene based therapies. Within a short time-frame, he has been able to create a signature of a substantial research effort with high impact and international recognition in the field of experimental and translational neuroscience with special focus in gene therapy for basal ganglia disorders. His work in this area is seen by leading authorities to be of top quality and wide impact. His research team has the capability to convert experimental findings to programs that lead to exploratory trials in humans and in this way profile him with distinction among its competitors internationally. He is widely cited for his translational work in the gene therapy field. He has been at the forefront of the development of clinically relevant animal models for neurodegenerative diseases, as well as implementation of behavioral and translational imaging end-points with improved predictive validity. He has published over 200 scientific articles, received more than 15 000 citations to date and has an h-index of 64. He is the author of four published patents. His vision formed the first building blocks of the Lund University Bioimaging Center (LBIC). With contributions from several investigators in Lund, LBIC has become one of the major achievements at Lund University. He has acted as the co-director of the Centre and led the development of translational imaging programs for applications in neurology and psychiatry. Prof Kirik received prestigious awards from the European Research Council in 2009 and 2012, named as the Maria and Allan Myers Fellow in 2010. He has been elected as the Regular Member of the Science Academy of Turkey in 2015. He is an associate editor of European Journal of Neuroscience, and editorial board member of a new Nature Journal Parkinson’s disease
Dr. Rany Aburashed
Memorial Healthcare Hospital
Chief of Neurology and the Director of Multiple Sclerosis
In addition to providing a wide range of neurology services, Dr. Aburashed is also designated as a Partner in Multiple Sclerosis Care from the Michigan Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Aburashed serves as Chief of Neurology and the Director of Multiple Sclerosis at the Memorial Institute for Neurosciences. He speaks on a national level about Multiple Sclerosis and feels strongly about having access to the most comprehensive care available for his MS patients. He has extensive experience with all treatment modalities and immunomodulating/immunosuppresive agents. Dr. Aburashed is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University where he educates neurology residents and medical students.
Professor Robert Perneczky
LMU Munich
Head of Division of Mental Health in Older Adults and Alzheimer Therapy and Research Center
Robert Perneczky was appointed in 2016 Professor of Translational Dementia
Research at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich and Head of the
Division of Mental Health in Older Adults at the University Hospital of LMU. He also
serves as principal investigator and group leader at German Center for
Neurodegenerative Disorders (DZNE) and associate investigator at the Cluster for
Systems Neurology (SyNergy) Munich. He also conducts research at Imperial
College London and until recently served as Co-director of the Neuroepidemiology
and Ageing Research Unit at the School of Public Health. He is a board registered
specialist in general adult and geriatric psychiatry in both Germany and the United
Kingdom. He studied medicine at the Technische Universität and LMU Munich and
completed his training in psychiatry, psychotherapy and geriatric medicine in 2009,
with research sabbaticals at New York University Center for Brain Health in 2006
and University of Cambridge, Department of Clinical Neurosciences in 2009. He
holds medical and research doctorates from Technische Universität Munich and a
business degree (MBA) from Warwick Business School.
Dr. Andrea Malaspina
Neuroscience and Trauma Centre, Blizard, Institute of Cell and Molecular Medicine, Barts & the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Barts Health NHS Trust
Reader in Clinical Neurology and Consultant Neurologist, Director North-East London and Essex MND Care Centre
Dr Andrea Malaspina is the Director of a Regional MND Care Centre in London and the lead of the Neurodegeneration group at the Blizard Institute, UCLPartners Academic Health Science Network. His main research focus is the identification of neurochemical signals of neurodegeneration and axonal loss that can be used to model novel biomarkers and therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. These molecular signatures include disordered proteins like neurofilaments, which exist in a soluble state or assembled into aggregates as well as metabolic and immune responses which accompany neurodegeneration. Contributing to this research endeavor, basic scientists and clinicians working across NHS and Academia and in partnership with Industry ensure a multi-modal approach to develop the next generation biomarkers and to identify disease mechanisms and novel target of pharmachological intervention for neurological conditions which have seen an exponential increase in the ageing population.
Patrick Sullivan
Childhood Cancer Canada
Chairman of the Board
Childhood Cancer Advocate
Patrick Sullivan is a passionate childhood cancer advocate, and Chairman of the Board of
Childhood Cancer Canada. Patrick became an advocate after his twin son Finn was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in
2007 and heard the word “incurable” for the first time in May 2008. His desire to make a change
in cancer research is in part an effort to pay an un-payable debt to his son Finn and to Change the
Stories of other Finn’s. Patrick participates in several national and international initiatives that include founder of
Ac2orn (Advocacy for Canadian Children Oncology Research Network), a director of the
CCRA, member of the executive of the Terry Fox Research Profyle initiative, Chair of the Bio-
CanRX Cancer Stakeholder Alliance, member of the AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group,
Therapies Network, Chair of the St. Baldrick’s/Stand-Up to Cancer Immunogenomics Dream
Team. By profession, Patrick is a securities and corporate-commercial litigator and one of the founding
partners of Taylor Veinotte Sullivan. Patrick is the proud father of three remarkable children, Baird, Sarah and Finn and would do
almost anything for the simple pleasure of holding Finn’s hand again.
Dr. Roberto Furlan
Institute of Experimental Neurology - INSpe, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute
Head of Clinical Neuroimmunology Unit
Roberto Furlan graduated in medicine at the University of Milano in 1991
After the MD degree, in 1992 he was visiting scientist in the Department of Neurology from the University of Chicago, working on HTLV-I. The following year (1993) he completed a research project on HTLV-I in the Clinical Laboratories of the Sao Rafael Hospital in Salvador-Bahia, in Brazil. From 1994 to 1995 he worked as a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, U.S.A. on HSV-1-mediated gene therapy of the central nervous system. Using HSV-1-derived vectors he performed gene therapy studies in multiple sclerosis models and in 2001 he obtained his PhD at the Open University of London working in the Neuroimmunology Unit of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy. Since 2001 tenure-track research assistant and then Senior scientist in the Neuroimmunology Unit of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, he completed in 2007 the residency in neurology. Since 2004, non-tenured professor at Vita e Salute San Raffaele University, Milan. Since 2009, Group leader and then Head of Unit of the Clinical Neuroimmunology Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan. From 2011 to 2018 Secretary treasurer of the International Society of NeuroImmunology. Since 2013 Academic Editor for Plos One. Since 2017 Deputy Director of the Institute of Experimental Neurology – INSpe, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan. Main fields of interest are now extracelluar vesicles of neural origin in health and disease and body fluid biomarkers in neurology.
He has published over 150 papers on peer reviewed international journals. Current H-index = 50, 39 in the last five years.
Dr. John Smeraglia
UCB Biopharma
Senior Director of Translational Biomarkers and Bioanalysis
John is the Senior Director of the Translational Biomarkers and Bioanalysis in Development Sciences at UCB Biopharma with laboratories in the UK and Belgium. He has responsibilities for aligning bioanalytical assays to assess Pharmacokinetics, Immunogenicity and biochemical biomarkers with clinical development needs across UCBs portfolio. Providing leadership on developing advanced bioanalytical solutions from pre-clinical development to post marketing for NBE’s and NCE’s including leading committees responsible for review and execution of biomarker strategy. John has held bioanalytical leadership positions in the US and EU with innovator drug development companies and CROs. He obtained his first degree in Medical Technology in the US and his second degree in Biomedical Sciences in the UK where his thesis focus on diagnostic markers in the treatment and management of diabetic nephropathy. His has developed his experience in bioanalytical sciences for the last 30 years and is the author of more than 40 peer reviewed publications.
Dr. Mark Frasier
Research Programs
Senior Vice President
As Senior Vice President, Research Programs, Mark co-manages a team of research professionals who stay closely linked to the Parkinson’s research community in order to develop an aggressive and innovative agenda for accelerating research and drug development for Parkinson’s disease. This ensures that MJFF research priorities reflect and best serve the ultimate needs of patients. Mark regularly meets with academic and industry researchers around the world to identify promising proposals to support, providing troubleshooting and ongoing management of projects as they go forward. He also supports the Foundation’s priority interest in developing biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease that will accelerate clinical trials of new drugs.
Dr. Frasier earned an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Dayton and a PhD in Pharmacology from Loyola University Chicago. He completed his postdoctoral work in the Neuroscience Discovery Research Group at Eli Lilly, Inc., in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he worked on drug-discovery research in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Since joining MJFF in 2006 he has led innovative strategies to support Parkinson’s therapeutic development and address pre-clinical, clinical, and regulatory challenges.
Professor Rudolf Oehler
Medical University Vienna
Professor
HIGHER EDUCATION
1990 – 1994 PhD thesis at the University of Innsbruck; graduate work performed at the Inst. of Medical Biochemistry, University of Vienna, Austria
1982 – 1989 Studies: “Microbiology” at University of Innsbruck, Austria; Diploma thesis at the Inst. for Medical Microbiology
APPOINTMENTS/ POSITIONS
2001 – present Associate Professor at the Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna
1994 – 2000 Assistant Professor at the Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna
1998 – 1990 Diagnostic Laboratory "Dr. Rohrer": Innsbruck, Austria
SELECTED MEMBERSHIPS
• Member of the European Association of Cancer Research
• Founding Member of the Austrian Proteomics Assiciation
PUBLICATION SUMMARY
58 peer reviewed articles (original articles and reviews), H-index: 21
For a detailed list of publication see https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2891-7155
Dr. Denes V. Agoston
Uniformed Services University (USU), Bethesda, MD.
Professor at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics
Denes V. Agoston, M.D., Ph.D. is tenured Professor at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University (USU), Bethesda, MD. Dr. Agoston’s research focuses on the molecular pathobiology
of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the aim of identifying diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Dr. Agoston has been collaborating with research groups on the acute and chronic consequences of TBI and polytrauma.
After obtaining his M.D. degree at the University Medical School, Szeged, Hungary he won a Max-Planck-Fellowship and made his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Max-Planck- Institute, Gottingen, Germany. He won a German
Scientific Council Fellowship and he moved to the NIMH, NIH in Bethesda, where he worked as Visiting Scientist before he became the Head of a research group at the NICHD, NIH. Dr. Agoston has made significant contributions to three fields of neuroscience; 1) Synaptic co-transmission and plasticity; by showing how synaptic activity regulates the switch between classical and peptidergic transmitters in neuronal communication; 2) Neuronal differentiation; by identifying the roles of structural DNA elements and chromatin remodeling in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in the developing brain. 3) Traumatic brain injury; by identifying some of the injury induced pathobiological processes and their blood and CSF based biomarkers using proteomics. Dr. Agoston has published over 100 peer reviewed articles, reviews and numerous book chapters and has presented his research at national and international scientific meeting. His research is funded by NIH and DoD.
Dr. Laure-Anne Ventouras
McKinsey & Company
Associate Partner
Laure-Anne Ventouras is an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, based in out of the Swiss office. She works with pharmaceutical and biotech companies specifically on R&D; and innovation topics as they relate to precision medicine. She is the leader of the McKinsey Precision Medicine Initiative in Europe, organizing regular round-tables on the topic and a core member of the McKinsey Cancer Center. Laure-Anne holds a PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT.
Dr. Ari Vanderwalde
West Cancer Center and Research Institute
Director of Clinical Research
Fellow of the American College of Physicians
Institute. Dr. VanderWalde is an internationally recognized researcher in in immunotherapy and targeted therapy and is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. He holds a dual appointment with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as Associate Vice Chancellor of Clinical Research and Associate Professor in Hematology/Oncology. His primary research is focused on combinations of immunotherapy, biomarkers predictive of response, and prediction of toxicities.
Dr. VanderWalde received his medical degree as well as a master’s degree in Biomedical Ethics from the University of Pennsylvania and has served as United States medical lead and clinical research medical director with Amgen, directing US global development of talimogene laherparepvec, now an FDA- and EMA- approved novel immunotherapeutic treatment for melanoma. He continues to participate extensively in drug development as a consultant for George Clinical, a branch of the George Institute.
Boards and committees that Dr. VanderWalde chairs and co-chairs include the Molecular Tumor Board, the Research Steering Committee, and the Cutaneous Malignancy Tumor Board at the West Cancer Center as well as the Clinical Trials Governance Board at University of Tennessee and the Virtual Molecular Tumor Board for Caris Life Sciences.
Dr. Thomas Joos
Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI)
Deputy Managing Director at the University of Tübingen,
Co-Founder, Signatope GMBH
Dr. Thomas Joos joined 1998 the NMI at the University of Tuebingen heading the department of biochemistry. Since 2013 he is the deputy managing director of NMI. His research is focused on miniaturized multiplexed immunoassays for biomarker research and diagnostic applications. Dr. Joos studied Biochemistry at the University of Tubingen. He performed his Ph.D. degree in 1995 on integrin‐alpha5 during early embroygenesis of Xenopus laevis in the laboratory of Prof. Peter Hausen at the Max‐Planck‐Institute of Developmental Biology.
Dr. Joos is a member of the editorial board of Drug Discovery Today, Proteomics, Molecular Biotechnology and Expert Review of Proteomics. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the "Plasma Proteome Institute" Washington, DC, USA, and of Myriad‐RBM, Austin, TX, USA. Dr. Joos is co-founder of SIGNATOPE, Reutlingen, Germany, a protein biomarker company offering assay development and screening services for any protein in any species.
Professor Henrik Zetterberg
University of Gothenburg
Professor of Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and University College London, UK
Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Henrik Zetterberg is a Professor of Neurochemistry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and University College London (UCL), UK, and a Clinical Chemist at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg. He is Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry at the University of Gothenburg and academic lead of the Dementia Research Institute Fluid Biomarker Laboratory at UCL. His main research focus and clinical interest are fluid biomarkers for CNS disorders.
Dr. Jens Kuhle
University Hospital Basel
Head Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research
Dr Jens Kuhle obtained his MD from the Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen, Germany and specialised in neurology and neuroimmunology at the University Hospital Basel. His research activities focused on biofluid markers related to course and outcome of neurological diseases in general, and specifically on establishing neurofilament light chain as the first blood based biomarker in MS. Based on this research, he received his PhD entitled “Towards quantifying neuronal damage in blood samples from patients with neurological diseases” in Neuroimmunology at Queen Mary University London, UK. He is a Swiss board certified neurologist, and has recently been appointed as Head of the newly founded Multiple Sclerosis Centre at the University Hospital Basel. Further, he is the Principal Investigator of the Swiss MS Cohort Study, a national academic network dedicated on biomarker and outcome research in MS.
Dr. Andrew Nixon
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Associate Professor in Medicine
Andrew Nixon, PhD, MBA (Associate Professor of Medicine) is Director of the Phase I Biomarker Laboratory, which brings together clinical, translational and basic research to pursue the development of novel biomarkers defining mechanisms of sensitivity, resistance, and toxicity to given therapeutic drug classes, particularly anti-angiogenic agents. Additionally, the laboratory has been appointed as a Molecular Reference Laboratory for the Alliance oncology cooperative group, a national clinical trial research group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. The laboratory has quality control procedures in place to address many of the issues involved in clinical trial research including determination of sample quantity, sample integrity, and sample heterogeneity. We have spent considerable time developing robust assays that utilize limited amounts of specimen while providing high quality data. Multiplex ELISA and gene expression arrays are used to analyze serially collected blood and paraffin samples archived from cancer patient clinical trials. This work has the potential to improve the efficacy and toxicity of current therapies and to guide the development of the next generation of anti-angiogenesis therapies for cancer and other diseases.
Dr. Maribeth Raines
President of MBBB Solutions
Dr. Maribeth Raines is currently an independent biomarker consultant with a broad-based background in a variety of areas but especially in oncology, inflammation, and virology as well as in biomarker discovery, development, and commercialization. She was previously the Vice President of Laboratory Services at Pacific Biomarkers, a CRO supporting the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining Pacific Biomarkers, Dr. Raines served as Director of Scientific Affairs for Quest Diagnostics Clinical Trials, where she helped establish biomarker, anatomic pathology, and flow cytometry testing for drug development. She was also responsible for building strategic alliances in emerging markets, standardizing processes, and harmonizing test results among multiple laboratories for global biomarker deployment. Prior to that position, she served as Director of R&D; at both Nichols Institute Diagnostics and BioSource International (now known as Life Technologies). In addition, she has served on the faculty at UCLA School of Medicine in the Radiation Oncology Division. Dr. Raines earned a B.S. degree in Biology from St. Francis University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Michigan State University.
