Valentino Rački, MD, is a PhD researcher at the Department of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka and a resident of Neurology at the University Hospital Center in Rijeka, Croatia. Current research is focused on movement disorders genetics and disease progression, as well as deep brain stimulation. Previous research focus includes microglia cells and viral infections in in-vitro settings at the Department of Physiology and immunology at the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka.

Ruma Raha-Chowdhury is the leading scientist who has been conducting research on inflammation, innate immunity, how that could accelerate in the ageing brain and in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Inflammation and innate immunity are key players in AD and Down syndrome (DS) dementia. My group identified critical factors that link Aβ deposition that leads to neurodegeneration in DS. Large numbers of proteins were identified in serum (by MASS spectra) in DS cohort. We have been investigating the function of those genes, 1C7, TREM2 hepcidin and CD26 in DS and AD. We reported crucial role of TREM2 in brain neuroprotection (Raha et al, 2017; 2020, Raha-Chowdhury et al, 2018, 2019, 2021). Currently, we identified two mutations in 1C7 genes in AD and DS subjects. My work is crucial to better understand the underlying causative mechanisms in DS that lead to AD-pathology and in identifying early blood markers that can aid in the evaluation of any putative preventative treatments. Aims to understand how peripheral immune cells communicate with the central nervous system, and are influenced by the gut-brain-immune axis (Raha et al, 2020). Hopefully this will lead to novel therapeutic strategies to delay the ageing process in neurodegenerative diseases including in DS dementia.

Shady Rahayel is a researcher specialized in brain imaging, sleep, and neurodegenerative disorders. He did his first postdoctoral training in molecular imaging at the University of Montreal (Canada) and a second postdoctoral training at The Neuro (McGill University, Canada) with Alain Dagher. His research work primarily focuses on the use of MRI imaging and computational neuroscience to understand the neurodegeneration associated with prodromal and manifest synucleinopathies. Shady also practices as a clinical sleep psychologist and neuropsychologist.

Dr. Shai Rahimipour obtained his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Inst. of Science, Israel under the supervision of Profs. Mati Fridkin and Yitzhak Koch from Dept. of Organic Chemistry and Neurobiology. He then spent three years as a Human Frontier and Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow at the Scripps Research Inst., California working with Prof. Reza Ghadiri. In 2006 he joined the Dept. of Chemistry at the Bar-Ilan University, Israel, where he currently holds the position of an Associate Prof. of Chemistry. The major trusts of Rahimipour’s team is to better understand and treat disorders that are linked to aberrant protein folding and assembly. The strategy employed by the team is interdisciplinary, aiming at utilizing self-assembly processes to design new modalities for targeting and arresting early oligomer and amyloid formation in different diseases, and diagnosing the related diseases in very early stage of their pathogenesis. The team published over 50 publications (h-index 22) in reputed Journals and 3 patents.

I am a data scientist with applications to neurodegenerative diseases. Much of my work has applied statistical genetic and bioinformatics concepts to the study of Alzheimer’s disease. This includes a number of candidate gene studies, genome-wide association studies, genetic ancestry studies, and a number of different study designs (familial, admixture analysis, etc.). My background provides the ability to assess and interpret bioinformatics resources for the thoughtful analysis of high-throughput genomics data.

A clinical Neuroradiologist with an interest in Neuroimaging and genetics research.

Raj Rajagovindan is currently Vice President of Clinical Development Sciences at Vigil Neuroscience. In this role, he leverages translational and precision medicine guided approach to clinical development in rare and common neurodegenerative diseases. He oversees the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose clinical measurements including fluid biomarkers, imaging and clinical scales to drug development programs. Prior to Vigil, Raj was Director of biomarkers in the Clinical Sciences function at Biogen, where he fostered and led a team accountable for delivering fit-for-purpose biomarker solutions and clinical development of Biogen’s clinical stage assets in neurodegenerative diseases and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Prior to Biogen, he led translational medicine applications for Abbott/AbbVie’s neuroscience programs across pain, psychiatry, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Raj began his industry career at Orasi Medical, an experimental medicine CRO, where he executed clinical research studies testing proof-of-biology/pharmacology for pharma sponsors.

I am a cell biologist interested in the pathophysiology of activity-dependent α-synuclein homeostasis.

The main goal of our laboratory is to understand the crucial role of free radicals and oxidative stress on cerebral functions during aging and in some neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The accumulation free radicals and oxidative stress could induce cell death. On the other hand, free radicals could also be intracellular mediators by activating cell signalling pathways and regulate the expression of some genes involved in neuroprotection. The wide spectrum of activity and distribution of free radicals make them among important biological agents involved in some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. A better knowledge of their intracellular functions is an essential step to prevent pathology where free radicals are involved. It is well known that free radicals can induce the oxidation of macromolecules such as proteins, lipids and DNA. In Alzheimer’s disease, these by-products of the oxidation macromolecules are detected in vulnerable regions of the brain in early stages of the disease. However, the role of these by-products of oxidation in neurodegeneration remains to be clarified. The objective of our laboratory is to investigate the contribution of these by-products of oxidation in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease. Free radicals and oxidative stress could be produced following a dysfunction of cellular metabolism. However, they could be generated following exposure to environmental compounds such as pesticides. Another objective of our laboratory is to better understand the role of these compounds in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. In parallel, our laboratory investigates the neuroprotective of some natural compounds such as polyphénols present in diet and in natural extracts. In addition to their antioxidant activity, these compounds could have several cellular targets likely involved in neuroprotection. Our objective is to identify polyphenols with neuroprotective activity. At long term, these compounds could be useful in the prevention and treatment of some neurodegenerative disorders. With the aging of the population, treatment of neurodegenerative disorders associated to aging remains a challenge and an active area of research. Using an interdisciplinary approach, our laboratory investigates the development new nanoneuropharmacological tools based on polymeric biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles. At long term, these nanoneuropharmacological tools could be useful for the diagnostic, the prevention and the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders by enhancing the bioavailability and the efficacy of pharmacological drugs in the brain.

I am a 2nd year PhD student in the group of Elin Esbjörner at Chalmers University. I study the intracellular trafficking of amyloid-beta in cultured neuronal cells.

Dr. Ramsden is a Clinical Investigator in the Intramural Program of the NIH and CAPT in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. Following completion of a medical internship and residency, Dr. Ramsden was a clinical research fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill before joining the Intramural Program of the NIAAA in 2009. In 2016, he was appointed to a Clinical Tenure-Track position as the Head of the Lipid Peroxidation Unit, within the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation in the NIA in Baltimore, MD, with a joint Tenure-Track appointment in the Intramural Program of NIAAA in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Ramsden currently leads an interdisciplinary, translational research program investigating the roles of lipid mediators and lipid-related mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of chronic pain and Alzheimer’s disease.

Kamalini Ranasinghe, is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Memory and Aging Center. As a physician-neuroscientist, she is passionate about understanding the neurons and neural networks that support human cognition and how their function gets disrupted with accumulation of proteins in neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease. Her program of research uses electrophysiology in combination with molecular biomarkers to investigate the dysfunctional neural circuits and their mechanistic relationships with proteinopathies. Kamalini currently leads the electrophysiological studies in patients with Alzheimer’s disease at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. She holds grant support from the NIA, Alzheimer’s Association, and Hillblom Foundation and her research work has been showcased in multiple influential research publications.