Former Department of Neuroscience
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Rome, Italy
Francesca Aloisi has been Head of Research and Acting Director of the Department of Neuroscience at Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Rome, Italy, until November 30, 2023. She is a biologist with past research interests in neuropharmacology, neurochemistry, glial cell biology and neuro-immune interactions. In the past 20 years, she has been involved in investigations on the aetiopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis. She has coordinated research activities aimed at clarifying the involvement of and interaction between B cells, Epstein-Barr virus and the antiviral immune response in the development of central nervous system inflammation and tissue damage in multiple sclerosis.
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute ICM, CNRS, Inserm
Paris, France
Dipartimento di Medicina dei Sistemi
Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
Neuromed
Roma/Pozzilli – Italy
Diego Centonze is Full Professor of Neurology at the Department of Systems Medicine of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the Unit of Neurology at the IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli (IS), Italy. He also leads the Synaptic Immunopathology Laboratory at Tor Vergata University. His research interests are related to the role of synaptic transmission and plasticity in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis and of its experimental model, and to the mechanisms of the neurodegenerative damage and of mood disturbances in neurological diseases. Prof. Centonze graduated in Medicine at the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1994, specialised in Neurology in 1999 and in Psychiatry in 2006 at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He obtained his PhD in Rehabilitation Medicine in 2012. Prof. Centonze is author of around 530 peer-reviewed papers published in international journals of Neuroscience, Neurology and Psychiatry. H-index (Scopus): 83.
Full Professor of Medical Genetics
Director Unit Clinical Genetics,
Sassari University Hospital
Sassari, Italy
Head of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory and Research Section
IRCCS Mondino Foundation
Pavia, Italy
Matteo Gastaldi was trained in neurology at the University of Pavia and Hospital Macchi foundation (Varese). He acquired his PhD at the University of Pavia under the supervision of his mentor Dr. Diego Franciotta. In this period, he spent 18 months at the John Radcliffe Hospital neuroimmunology laboratory (University of Oxford) under the supervision of Prof. Angela Vincent, where he developed a keen interest in the field of antibody mediated disorders of the central nervous system. In the following years he spent 3 months at the IDIBAPS Barcellona neuroimmunology laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Francesc Graus and Josep Dalmau, a leading laboratory for the detection of neuronal surface antibodies. Since 2020 he is the head of the neuroimmunology laboratory and Neuroimmunology research Unit at the IRCCS Mondino Foundation, a referral laboratory for the detection of neuroglial antibodies in Italy.
He is currently part of the board of the Italian Association of Neuroimmunology, where he coordinates a research group for the study of autoimmune neurology (NINA) that promotes network projects in this field. Within the same scientific society, with his former mentor Diego Franciotta, he helped coordinating the annual AINI external quality scheme, that promotes standardization among neuroimmunology laboratories across Italy.
His main research interest is the field of antibody mediated disorders of the nervous system including demyelinating disorders, myasthenia gravis and autoimmune encephalitis. The current research projects of the Mondino Neuroimmunology Laboratory include the standardization and evaluation of the immunoassays for neuronal antibody detection, the relevance of antibody-mediated myelin loss in Multiple Sclerosis, the prognostic and pathogenic role of MOG antibodies and the relevance of neuronal antibodies in the development of new onset psychosis.
Associate Professor of Neurology / Microbiology & Immunology
Co-Director of the Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience at Dartmouth
DHMC & Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Lebanon, NH, USA
Francesca Gilli, PhD, MS, is a translational neuroimmunologist with a strong educational foundation and extensive research background. She obtained her MS in Medical Biotechnology and went on to earn her PhD in Human Biology from the University of Torino in Italy. Subsequently, Dr. Gilli engaged in postdoctoral research specializing in neuroimmunology at reputable institutions, including the University of Torino (Italy) and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth (USA). At present, Dr. Gilli serves as an Associate Professor of Neurology and of Microbiology and Immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Her diverse skill set encompasses neuroimmunology, neurobiology, and molecular biology, coupled with expertise in both human systems and animal modeling for preclinical research. Dr. Gilli’s current research is focused on comprehending the fundamental biology underlying neuroinflammation and neuronal injury in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly multiple sclerosis.
Professor of Neuroinflammation
Department of Clinical Neuroscience (CNS)
Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM)
Karolinska Institute (KI)
Stockholm, Sweden
Maja Jagodic completed her MSc at the University of Belgrade, Serbia, in Molecular Biology and Physiology specializing in Experimental Medicine in 1999. Upon obtaining the Swedish Institute scholarship, she moved to Sweden where she completed her PhD degree at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm in 2004 studying genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases. After thesis defense, she spent a year at the Karolinska Institute gaining skills in human genetics. Already towards the end of her PhD, Maja became fascinated by the field of epigenetics. At that time, epigenetic mechanisms, which orchestrate genome activity in response to environmental cues, were strongly implicated in the etiology of complex inflammatory diseases but virtually unexplored. Maja was awarded a Wenner-Gren postdoctoral fellowship to study epigenetic mechanisms in cancer at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2008, she was awarded an Assistant Professor position by the Swedish Research Council her pioneering research in epigenetics of neuroinflammation and she returned to Sweden to initiate studies of epigenetic mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis. She was appointed a group leader at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in 2012, she became an Associate Professor in Experimental Medicine in 2014 and a Professor of Neuroinflammation in 2021. Her research group thrives in the field of translational neuroimmunology focusing on the mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation and neuronal loss in Multiple Sclerosis and other inflammatory diseases with similar complex etiology. This builds on her expertise in functional genetics, human genetics and epigenetics of inflammation. Her group utilizes state-of-the-art molecular and analytical methods to elucidate functional states of discrete cells in unique clinical cohorts, followed by functional studies in advanced experimental models, with the goal to reveal the etiology of neuroinflammatory diseases and improve their management through novel treatments and specific biomarkers. Her excellent scientific quality and leadership is recognized by multiple awards (e.g. the Best PI at KI award, 2015), fellowships and grants (e.g. the ERC-consolidator grant, 2019; the Wallenberg grant, 2020, multiple EU Horizon2020 grants) and by her membership in renowned constellations of experts in neuroimmunology, genetics and epigenetics.
Group of Neuroimmunology and Department of Clinical Neurology
John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford, UK
Associate Professor,
Department of Psychology
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX, USA
Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Dr. Pestilli joined the University of Texas in 2020. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor at Indiana University. Dr. Pestilli holds a Ph.D. from New York University and a B.A. from the University of Rome La Sapienza and received Postdoctoral Training at Stanford University and Columbia University.
At the University of Texas at Austin, Franco teaches Cognitive Neuroscience and Data Science. The research in the laboratory of Dr. Pestilli focuses on understanding brain networks, and brain white matter. Major efforts in the laboratory of Dr. Pestilli focus on promoting openness, trust, and standardization of scientific research. Dr. Pestilli is the Director and Founder of the cloud computing platform brainlife.io, the platform serves thousands of users and promotes scientific education, transparency, and rigor. brainlife.io has enabled researchers to assess how brain networks are affected by disease and change across the lifespan.
Dr. Pestilli is the author of over 70 publications spanning multiple fields of science, such as Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Vision, Neuroanatomy, Computer Science, and Neuroinformatics. Dr. Pestilli’s scientific projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Kavli Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Department of Defense, the Association for Psychological Science, the Indiana University Emergent Areas of Research, Pervasive Technology Institute, and Microsoft Research.
Dr. Pestilli is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and a Fellow of the Psychonomics Society. He has received a Microsoft Faculty Fellowship and the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Achievements from the Association for Psychological Science. He is an editorial board member for Scientific Data, and Scientific Reports. Dr. Pestilli is Director of the Advanced Computational Neuroscience Network, the Wellcome-Kavli Project on International Data Sharing and Governance, and the Brain Imaging Data Structure Brain Connectivity Project. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory for ACCESS-CI, Member of the Training and Education Committee of the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility, Chair of the International Brain Initiative Data Sharing Working Group, and Chair of the Infrastructure Committee of the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility.
Associate Professor
School of Medical Sciences
Brain and Mind Centre
University of Sydney
Westmead, Sydney, Australia
Dr. Laura Piccio obtained an M.D. and a Ph.D. degree from the School of Medicine at the University of Milan in Italy. She completed a neurology residency program at the University of Milan. In 2005, she was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) during which she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Anne H Cross at Washington University in St Louis. In 2008 Dr. Piccio started to be on faculty in the Department of Neurology at Washington University. In February 2019, she joined the University of Sydney in the School of Medical Sciences,. Brain and Mind Centre.
During her career Dr. Piccio was the recipient of several awards including the Harry Weaver Neuroscience Award from the National MS Society, the Dana Neuroscience Scholar award from the Dana Foundation and the Whitaker prize from the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC).
As a clinician-scientist, her research integrates clinical and research aspects related to multiple sclerosis and to the role of neuroinflammation in neurological diseases. Her work is currently centered around two main areas. One is the understanding of the complex interactions between diet, metabolism and immune responses in neuroinflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis and its animal models. This is achieved using modern and integrated omics technologies. The second area of focus involves defining the cellular and molecular pathways driving microglia and other glial cells responses in the brain during neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Neurology Professor at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin
Head of the Department of Experimental Neurology,
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Harald Prüss is group leader for Autoimmune Encephalopathies at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Berlin, consultant neurologist at the Department of Neurology, Director of the department of Experimental Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and Head of the autoimmune encephalitis center and outpatient memory clinic at Charité Berlin, Germany.
Dr. Prüss received his medical degree and qualification in Neurology from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, as well as the habilitation (venia legendi) in Experimental Neurology and Neurology. The postdoctoral training was performed in Berlin, Germany, and at Harvard Medical School, Boston. His group is active in the field of cellular and molecular neuroscience, in particular in autoimmune contribution to neurological disorders, animal models of antibody-mediated CNS diseases, synaptic changes caused by pathogenic auto-antibodies, nervous system–immune system ‘crosstalk’ in acute and chronic brain diseases, and novel selective immunotherapies.
His studies on the first monoclonal human autoantibodies targeting NMDA and many further brain receptors were a paradigm shift as they proofed the direct pathogenicity of these antibodies and at the same time provide the rationale to treat such patients with often aggressive immunotherapy. His work is published in the top journals of the field, including Cell, Science, Nature Neuroscience, Annals of Neurology and Biological Psychiatry.
Fundació Clínic per la Recerca Biomèdica – IDIBAPS Research Institute
Barcelona, Spain
Marianna Spatola was born in 1982 in Italy. She is an MD PhD, neurologist and researcher, currently working as Postdoc Junior Leader by la Caixa Foundation in the Neuroimmunology Unit (Laboratory of Dr Dalmau) at IDIBAPS Research Institute, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain. Her research aims to establish the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the development of immune-mediated neurological syndromes, such as autoimmune encephalitis, with a particular focus on understanding the role of viruses in triggering brain autoimmunity. She obtained her medical degree (M.D.) from the University of Turin (Italy), completed her Neurology residency and obtained her PhD in Life Science at the University of Lausanne (CHUV, UNIL, Switzerland), and her post-doctorate at Harvard University in Boston (USA). She is author of more than 30 publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and is member of the Editorial Board of the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation. She has broad experience as speaker at numerous international congresses (in Europe, USA, India) and is active member of teaching and training programs, for instance as director of the course “Autoimmune paraneoplastic neurological syndromes” at the American Academy of Neurology Meeting since 2021. Moreover, she has covered leadership roles as junior chair at scientific sessions (American Academy of Neurology, European Academy of Neurology) or workgroup (European guidelines for the treatment of Autoimmune Encephalitis), as well as member of steering committee (Italian Network of autoimmune Neurology). Since her pre-doctoral training, she has obtained over $ 1.000.000 in grants to support her research, and has mentored 3 pre-doctoral students and supervised several others (Master students, post-doc trainees). She has been awarded the Faculty Prize from the University of Lausanne in 2018, the Neuroscience Research Scholarship from the American Academy of Neurology in 2018, and the Neurovirology Lectureship Award from the International Neurovirology Society in 2020.
Institute for Molecular Medicine
University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University
Mainz, Germany
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