Guangping Gao, Ph.D., is the Director of the Gene Therapy Center and Penelope Booth Rockwell Professor in Biomedical Research, UMass Medical School. He is also a scientific founder of Voyager Therapeutics. He received his Bachelor Degree in Medicine from Sichuan University, China, and Ph.D. in molecular genetics at Florida International University with his work on discovering the human aspartoacylase gene and the genetic mutations responsible for Canavan’s disease. He joined the Institute for Human Gene Therapy (IHGT) at University of Pennsylvania in 1994 and served as the Director of Vector Program of IHGT for vector discovery, process development, vector manufacturing and QC testing. One of his most important contributions to the field of gene therapy is his discovery of a novel family of highly efficient and safe AAV vectors. His primary research interests include molecular mechanisms of AAV evolution, microRNA functional genomics in adult mammals, biology and clinical applications of miRNA therapeutics, and gene therapy of CNS disorders. He has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has 26 patented inventions. He served on several international committees for gene therapy. He is the senior editor of the Book Series on Gene and Cell Therapy publishing by ASGCT and Springer Publisher and serves on Advisory Board of Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

Molecular mechanisms of AAV evolution, microRNA functional genomics in adult mammals, biology and clinical applications of miRNA therapeutics, and Gene therapy of CNS disorders

Amina S. woods is an investigator at integrative neuroscience branch, structural biology unit, NIDA. Woods obtained her B.Sc degree in chemistry at Loyola College. After graduation, she joined Department of Pathology and went to University of Maryland Medical School and obtained her M.S. She received a Ph. D in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She has undergone Post-doctoral training in Oncology Immunology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Advisor Elizabeth Jaffee). Dr. Woods received “Woman Scientist Achievement Award” from NIDA in 2011.

Functional proteomics, mapping and imaging of the brain’s and other organs, lipidome and proteome of leucocytes, protein modeling and bioinformatics

Kaja is an experienced neurobiologist with a long-standing research track record in academia and the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Kaja currently serves as Associate Director of Preclinical Research at the Vision Research Center at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Medicine. He is the Director of Microscopy of the imaging core facility at the Vision Research Center and also holds an appointment to Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology. His NIH-funded research program focuses on human neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, visual disorders and inflammation. Kaja obtained his B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Durham University, UK and holds a Ph.D. degree in Medicine/Neuroscience from Leiden University, The Netherlands. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, he has performed postdoctoral work at The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) and the University of North Texas Health Science Center (Fort Worth, TX). In addition to his academic work, Dr. Kaja has worked and consulted for a number of pharmaceutical companies, incl. Novo Nordisk A/S, Bayer AG, Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Inc., and NeuroSearch A/S. He is CEO and co-founder of K&P Scientific LLC, a scientific consulting company headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative, neurological and visual disorders.

Gordon Arbuthnott completed both B.Sc. and PhD from Aberdeen University and postdoctoral studies in the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Professor Arbuthnott worked for many years in the University of Edinburgh, with the UK Medical Research Council and as a Professor of Neuroscience. He moved to OIST soon after it was formed, contributing to its development as an International Graduate University. His interest in dopamine stems from early work on 6-hydroxydopamine as a method of removing dopamine cells in rodents and his interest in the consequences, for the animals and thence for PD patients, has occupied him for his entire career.

Neuroscience,Dopamine stems from early work on 6-hydroxydopamine as a method of removing dopamine cells in rodents.

Guang-Xian Zhang earned his Ph.D from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, in 1996 and began postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2000. He is currently professor at the Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, and co-director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratories at this institution. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers. He has also served as a reviewer for first-class journals, and as a reviewer on study section rosters in several funding agencies. His studies mainly focus on using neural stem cells as a novel approach for treatment of human multiple sclerosis, via mechanisms of immunomodulation, neural cell repopulation and neuroregeneration.

Neural stem cells/gene therapy in multiple sclerosis (MS), Neurological autoimmune diseases

Education / Training 1986 - Ecole Normale Superieure (Life Science). 1991 - Ph.D. Neuroscience (Bordeaux University). 1998 - Habilitation (Paris XI University, School of Medicine). Present Position Head of the Laboratory \\\\\\\"Perception and Memory\\\\\\\" at the Pasteur Institute Director of the Unit \\\\\\\"Genes, Synapses and Cognition\\\\\\\" at the French Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Director of a PhD program \\\\\\\"Neuroscience at the Pasteur Institute\\\\\\\"

Modern neurosciences

Rafi is a Professor of Neurology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He has received his PhD in Animal Biology from the University of Montpellier, France. He has taught Cell and Molecular Biology for 16 years at the School of Science, Tabriz University, Iran where he sustained the Chairmanship of the Biology Department for several years before moving to the USA. While working in several lysosomal storage diseases, his main research is currently focused on gene therapy of globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) in animal models of this disorder

Lysosomal disorders, Gene & cell therapy of leukodystrophies

Dr. Trevor Archer is a Professor of Psychology in University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He did his PhD, in Psychology from the Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden in 1979. He served as a Professor of Psychology in Umeå University, Göteborg University, Karlstad University, Örebro University, Madrid Complutense, Kalmar University, Sweden, Visiting Professor, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA; Madrid University, Spain, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. Dr. Archer is an author of more than 484 publications & many books. He is an Editorial Board member & Reviewer for many Journals.

Psychology,Neurotoxicity Research

Walter E. Muller is a Professor of Pharmacology.He is now serving as a Chairman, Department of Pharmacology,Biocentre,University of Frankfurt.He is graduated from School of Pharmacy,University of Frankfurt with a Doctoral degree in department of pharmacology from University of Mainz school of medicine.He is a Honorary member of Austrian Society for Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry and was awarded in Psychopharmacology,German Association for Neuropsychopharmacology(AGNP)in 2009,Award in German Secretary for Science and Education in 1978.He has a Fellowship in American College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology. He had published 21 Books,129 Book chapters.Reviewed 189 Articles,has 320 Original publications with Hirsch-index: 63 & i10-index: 278.

Neurodegeneration and neuroprotective agents, Oxidative stress and antioxidants, Anti-depressant and anxiolytic mechanisms

Dikranian is an Associate Professor of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology in Washington University , USA. He received his MD from Medical University, Varna, Bulgaria in 1978 & PhD from Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria in 1992. Dikranian have extensively studied the morphology of the vascular and nervous systems including the enteric nervous system. In the last 15 years the focus of his scientific interest has been the pathomorphology of the central and peripheral nervous systems. In ongoing projects with the Department of Neurology I am studying the development of neuronal and axonal changes after brain trauma and in transgenic mice expressing mutations common in Alzheimer’s disease. Mapping the human macro-connectome represents a grand challenge for the coming century and the field of connectomics received a major boost with the launching of the Human Connectome Project (HCP) in 2010. This is a large-scale NIH-sponsored effort to map the human connectome in healthy adults. Diffusion imaging and resting-state fMRI represent the two main modalities for examining the macro-connectome in vivo. My contribution to the project relates to combining and navigating MRI data with data from histological studies on primates by tracking trajectories of axonal pathways between the white matter and gray matter. Dikranian been a reviewer for many reputed Journal & author for many publications & books.

Pathomorphology of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Meguid is an experienced clinical geneticist . Currently served as a professor of human genetics at the National Research Center (NRC) in Egypt. Holds her Ph.D. in Human Genetics, Senior Geneticist at the Genetics Institute, Pasadena, California; a fellow of Uppsala University, Sweden; fellow at Yale University USA. She was one of five selected scientists to win the outstanding L’Oreal UNESCO Award for women in Science for Africa & Middle East (2002). She is the head and running a Clinic and Laboratory for children with neurogenetic disorders focusing on genetics of autism. Currently she is a member in the Regional Bio-Ethics Society and committed to Gender Research in Africa into Information Communication Technologies for Empowerment.

Neurodevelopmental research particularly autism, syndrome identification

Carlos Jorge Rubinstein is a Professor of Medicine at Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)and Head of Teaching and Research at Hospital Dr. F. Abete. Dr. Rubinstein was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires. He received his medical degree in 1990. He completed his residency at the Hospital Dr. Ramon Carrillo. It Intern Medicine specialist, Psychiatry and Geriatrics. Teaching UBA School of Medicine, director of graduate studies in geriatrics at this university. Staff in Trauma and Emergency Hospital Dr Federico Abete (teaching Hospital), Head of Teaching and Research at same hospital. He is a member counselor of the Colegio Medico of the Province of Buenos Aires, a member of the Society of Internal Medicine of Buenos Aires and mamber of Argentina Medical AssociationBiography

Psychiatry, Medical Psychology, and GeriatricsResearch Interest

Yusaku Nakabeppu is a Professor at the Division of Neurofunctional Genomics, Department of Immunobiology and Neuroscience, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Japan. He is now serving as the Director of Research Center for Nucleotide Pool, Kyushu University. Dr. Nakabeppu graduated from Graduate School of Sciences, Kyushu University, with a Doctor of Science degree in 1984. He has performed postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (in Professor Daniel Nathans’s Lab; 1987 to 1990). In 1997, he was appointed as a Professor at the Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, and elected as a Distinguished Professor at Kyushu University in 2010.

Neurofunctional genomics

Education 1988 BSc in Biological Sciences, University of Milan 1992 PhD Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Milan Professional experience 1992-1997 Postdoctoral fellow, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany 1998 – to present Group Leader, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy 1998 – to present Professor of Psychobiology, University San Raffaele, Milan, Italy 2003 – to present Council Member of the Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society 2006 – to present President of the European Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society 2007 – to present Editorial Board Member of Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

Neurosciences,Dysfunctions associated to Parkinson’s disease