Neurology Video Journal Club Biographies and Disclosures

Rizwan S. Akhtar, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Akhtar is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. He received his medical and graduate degrees from the University of Alabama – Birmingham and completed Neurology residency and Movement Disorders fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Principal Investigator for the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Biorepository and directs the CurePSP Center of Care at Northwestern University. His research focuses on biomarker discovery and validation for Parkinson’s disease and related synucleinopathies.

Disclosures

R. Akhtar receives research support from the NIA, NINDS, and American Brain Foundation; serves as a consultant for Vanqua Bio; and receives speaker honoraria from the AAN. 

Farwa Ali, M.B.B.S

Biography

Dr. Ali is a consultant physician and an assistant professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr. Ali completed her neurology residency and clinical movement disorders fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester before joining faculty in 2018. Dr. Ali’s research program focuses on mechanisms of gait and balance disorders, and motor manifestations of Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias, using computerized gait analysis and advanced neuroimaging. Her work is supported by the NIH as well as intramural funding.

Disclosures

F. Ali received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Jeffrey Allen, MD

Biography

Dr. Allen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. He completed his neurology residency training at Tufts University, and neuromuscular fellowship at Harvard. Dr. Allen’s research has focused on defining the clinical and diagnostic boundaries of the inflammatory neuropathies, as well as investigating treatments for those disorders. He serves on the GBS/CIDP Foundation International Global Medical Advisory Board as well as the Inflammatory Neuropathy Consortium (INC) board.

Disclosures

J. Allen serves on the scientific advisory board for Alnylym, Annexon, Argenx SE, Alexion, CSL Behring, Immunovant, Immupharma, Grifols, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda, and Sanofi; receives research support from Immunovant, Argenx, and Sanofi; serves as a speaker bureaus for CSL behring, Alnylym, and Argenx. Dr. Allen has received travel funding or speaker honoraria from Alexion, Argynx, CSL Behring, Alnylym, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Zubair Ahmed, MD

Biography

Dr. Ahmed obtained his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his neurology residency at the Cleveland Clinic. He completed his UCNS headache fellowship at the University of Utah. He is currently an assistance professor of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, where he serves as director of research in the headache center and as the Headache Fellowship Director.

Disclosures

Z. Ahmed serves on speakers’ bureaus for Abbvie and Biohaven; and has received speaker honoraria from Abbvie, Biohaven, and the AAN.

Jessica Ailani, MD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Ailani is a Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director of the Medstar Georgetown Headache Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. She also serves as the Vice Co-Chair of Strategic Planning for the Department of Neurology. Dr. Ailani received her medical degree from the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York, followed by an internship at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York. Dr. Ailani subsequently completed a residency and Chief Residency in Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, New York, followed by a fellowship in Headache Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is board-certified in Neurology with subspecialty certification in Headache Medicine. Dr. Ailani is a fellow of the American headache society, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. She is currently the Secretary of the American Headache Society. For AHS, Dr. Ailani is the chair of the membership committee, awards committee, and vice-chair of the leadership committee. Dr. Ailani is Section Editor of Unusual Headache Syndromes for Current Pain and Headache Reports and a medical reviewer for SELF magazine, as well as for several professional journals. Dr. Ailani has presented nationally on topics surrounding headache medicine.

Disclosures

J. Ailani serves on scientific advisory boards for Abbvie, Amgen, Aeon, Axsome, BDSI, Lundbeck, Eli Lilly, Teva, Impel, Lindpharma, and Biohaven; serves as a Section Editor for Current Pain and Headache Reports; serves as a consultant for Abbvie, Lundbeck, Amgen, Biohaven, Eli Lilly, Teva, GlaxoSmithKlein, Miravo, Impel, Satsuma, Neurolief, and Nesos; receives research support from Allergan/Abbvie, Biohaven, Eli Lilly, Zosano, and Satsuma; receives stock options for consulting with CtrlM; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Rachel Beekman, MD

Biography

Dr. Beekman is a neurointensivist with expertise in identification and management of hypoxic ischemic brain injury. The central goal of her research is the early classification of brain injury severity, identification of secondary brain injury risk profiles using multimodal monitoring, individualized brain-centered resuscitation to minimize secondary brain injury, and neuroprognostication. She is the Director of the Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Yale University Medical Center, Yale New Haven Hospital.

Disclosures

R. Beekman receives research support from the ZOLL Research in Resuscitation Award and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

May A. Beydoun, MPH, PhD

Biography

Dr. Beydoun received her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with traineeship at the Carolina Population Center, under the mentorships of Dr. Jay S. Kaufman (Department of Epidemiology) and Dr. Barry M. Popkin (Department of Nutrition). She then completed a year and a half of postdoctoral fellowship in nutritional epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health under the mentorship of Dr. Youfa Wang (Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health). She joined the NIA IRP in 2008 as a staff scientist in the Laboratory of Personality and Cognition and is currently in the Health Disparities Research Section within the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences. Over the years, she focused her attention on several areas of research. A key area of interest is neuro-cognitive aging (incident dementia including Alzheimer’s Disease, age-related cognitive decline or neuro-imaging endpoints) and its association with genetic, socio-economic, environmental, microbial, psychosocial, nutritional, inflammatory and other blood biomarkers, and cardio-metabolic risk factors using cross-sectional (National Health Nutrition Health Examination Surveys (NHANES), Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), other AHRQ-HCUP and other national data), prospective (e.g. Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span (HANDLS), Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)) and retrospective cohort (e.g. national data linked to CMS-Medicare, data) and ancillary neuro-imaging studies of diverse populations (e.g HANDLS-SCAN) to answer important related research questions. Another distinctive but related area is the associations of diet, other lifestyle factors, nutritional, inflammatory and other blood biomarkers with mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms and sleep disorders. She also attempts to examine racial and socio-economic disparities, particularly in terms of dietary behaviors, metabolic disturbances, neuro-cognitive aging and mortality and how individual lifestyle factors, city and neighborhood level factors (e.g. monetary value of the diet) and psychosocial factors (including perceived racial and gender discrimination) may interact to influence those disparities.

Disclosures

M. A. Beydoun reports no disclosures.

Alexandra Boogers, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Alexandra Boogers completed her medical training at the University of Antwerp, Belgium followed by her residency in neurology at the same university. Thereafter, she pursued a PhD at the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium on the topic of deep brain stimulation for essential tremor. She is currently working as a DBS fellow at the Toronto Western Hospital in Canada.

Disclosures

A. Boogers has recieved speaker honoaria or travel funding from Abbott Medical, Abbvie, Boston Scientific, and the AAN.

Dennis Bourdette, MD, FAAN, FANA

Biography

Dr. Bourdette graduated from the University of California Davis Medical School and completed a neurology residency and neuroimmunology fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the Portland VA Medical School. He joined the OHSU Department of Neurology faculty and founded the OHSU Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center in 1983, and served as Chair of the department from 2000 to 2020. He has published over 300 articles and is known for his research related to MS, including conducting studies on the cost of MS treatment.

Disclosures

D. Bourdette has served on the editorial board for the Neurology; provides consultations to Magellan Health on individual cases regarding requests to insurance companies for coverage of expensive therapies and provide patient consultations for Teledoc Health; and has stock options/Board of Directors Compensation for Autobahn Therapeutics. Dr. Bourdette has received royalty payments from Oregon Health & Science University for milestones achieved by Autobahn Therapeutics in their development of thyromimetics for treating neurological and psychiatric diseases; has received travel funding from the Nancy Davis Foundation and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Rory Boyle, PhD

Biography

Dr. Boyle is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He completed a PhD in Trinity College Dublin which focused on the development and validation of objective neuroimaging measures of brain health and cognitive reserve/resilience. His field of expertise is cognitive resilience and resistance to Alzheimer disease. His specific research interests are focused on identifying the underlying mechanisms that support cognitive resilience, developing an objective measure of this construct using neuroimaging and understanding sex differences in cognitive resilience and resistance to Alzheimer disease.

Disclosures

R. Boyle has received research support from the Irish Research Council in partnership with Altoida, Inc., from the NIH-NIA; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sarah Brooker, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Brooker was born and raised in Minnesota and completed her undergraduate degree at Yale University. She then joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University where she earned her medical and doctoral degrees. She stayed on at Northwestern for her neurology residency and fellowship training and is currently completing an R25 research fellowship and movement disorders clinical fellowship.

Disclosures

S. Brooker receives research support from the NIH NINDS; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Tiffany Brown, MD

Biography

Dr. Brown is board certified in Neurology and Vascular Neurology. She provides both inpatient and outpatient Neurology care at the Baylor Scott & White hospital system. Her focus is on providing high quality, evidence-based patient care, as well as teaching neurology residents and medical students. She completed her Neurology residency at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, and her Vascular Neurology fellowship at the University of Colorado.

Disclosures

T. Brown has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Rachel F. Buckley, BSc (Hons), PhD

Biography

Dr. Buckley is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and holds an honorary appointment with the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a recipient of an NIH-NIA K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award and an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship. She is an Editorial Board member at Neurology and an Associate Editor of Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. She is also Vice-Chair of the Sex and Gender Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease ISTAART Professional Interest Area for Alzheimer’s Association. Her field of expertise is in the investigation of sex differences in Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers in preclinical AD. Specifically, her interests lie in what sex biological mechanisms might explain female vulnerability, and resilience, to AD pathology.

Disclosures

R.F. Buckley serves as Associate Editor of Alzheimer's & Dementia DADM sub-journal and on the Editorial Board of Neurology; has received funding for travel from Eli Lilly; receives research support from NHMRC, CCAD, New Vision Research NIH-NIA, and Alzheimer's Association; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN and Stonybrook University.

Mark Burish, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Burish received his MD PhD from Vanderbilt University. He completed his neurology residency at the University of California at San Francisco. He completed his fellowship in interventional pain management in the department of Anesthesiology at UCSF, and later obtained headache certification as an attending through the UCNS practice track. Dr. Burish’ cluster headache research surrounds epidemiology as well as basic science circadian mechanisms.

Disclosures

M. Burish receives research support from Lundbeck Pharma and Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation; has served as a consultant for Praxis Precision Medicines, Lundbeck Pharma, Initiator Pharma, and PureTech Health; and has received travel funding or speaker honoraria from the American Headache Society and AAN.

Jose Canas, MD

Biography

Dr. Canas is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St Petersburg, FL. His main research interest includes the prevention and treatment of metabolic obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents. His research focuses on studying both in-vitro and in-vivo effects of mixed carotenoid supplementation as modifiers of the rate of accrual of abdominal fat and the development of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. He has established research collaborations with senior investigators from the National Institute of Aging (NIA/NIH) and the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences. Using data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Lifespan (HANDLS), they have performed studies that investigate the root causes of Alzheimer disease, metabolic syndrome and affective disorders. By studying the genetic and nutritional factors that influence the neurobiology of aging, they hope to formulate effective prevention strategies against obesity, heart disease, and cognitive decline, which are maladies which plague both our young-adult and aging populations.

Disclosures

J. Canas has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Daniela Castillo Villagrán, MD

Biography

Dr. Sabayan is a clinician researcher with major interest in preventive neurology and brain health. After graduation as MD, he studied master of science in aging and vitality and received his PhD in clinical neuroscience from Leiden University. He completed his residency and fellowship in neurology and vascular neurology at Northwestern University and Massachusetts General Hospital, and currently his clinical practice focuses on cerebrovascular care.

Disclosures

D. Castillo Villagrán has nothing to disclose.

Sokratis Charisis, MD

Biography

Dr. Charisis was born and grew up in Athens, Greece. After receiving his MD from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he completed a 2-year clinical research fellowship in the 1st Department of Neurology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is currently a neurology resident at UT Health San Antonio, and a research fellow at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases. His research interests include investigation of lifestyle and environmental factors, redox biomarkers, imaging biomarkers and sleep patterns in neurodegenerative diseases and healthy aging, as well as application of advanced statistical models and techniques in biomedical research. See more information regarding Dr. Charisis’ work.

Disclosures

S. Charisis has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sharon Chiang, MD, PhD

Biography

Sharon Chiang, MD, PhD, is a clinical instructor in the Division of Epilepsy and a research fellow in the Department of Physiology at UCSF. Her research interests are in the development of statistical algorithms and machine learning for seizure risk estimation and in memory and learning in epilepsy.

Disclosures

S. Chiang served on the following editoral boards: Frontiers in Neurology - section epilepsy, Guest Associate Editor, 2020-2021; Frontiers in Neurology - section clinical neuroimaging, Associate Editor, 2021-2022. She serves as a consult for Neurelis; serves as Cofounder, EpilepsyAI, LLC - statistical consulting; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Shannon Y. Chiu, MD, MSc

Biography

Dr. Chiu completed her medical training at New York University, followed by her residency in neurology at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She completed a movement disorders fellowship at the University of Florida, where she is currently an assistant professor of neurology. She is focused on better understanding the pathophysiologic changes associated with clinical manifestations of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Her current research is in the application of diffusion-weighted MRI and electroencephalography in DLB, and development of these techniques as potential biomarkers.

Disclosures

S. Chiu receives research support from the NIH; has received research funding from the Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN. 

Parichita Choudhury, MD

Biography

Dr. Choudhury is a cognitive neurologist, assistant professor at University of Arizona and practices at Banner Sun Health Research Institute. She completed her medical school and residency in Canada followed by clinical fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In addition to providing clinical care, she is involved in multiple clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. She also conducts research in the dementia care and areas of interest include early diagnosis of dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and sex differences in dementia care.

Disclosures

P. Choudhury has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

David Coughlin, MD, MTR

Biography

Dr. Coughlin is a movement disorders neurologist at the University of California San Diego. He performs research on the neuropathology of neurodegenerative diseases, performing clinicopathological studies in autopsy validated cohorts focusing on Parkinson disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and atypical parkinsonian syndromes. Additionally, he also uses modern image analysis techniques to better delineate the spread of pathology in these diseases and to study the pathological changes associated with novel in vivo biomarkers.

Disclosures

D. Coughlin has received research support from the NIH (NINDS, NIA, and NCATS) and from the AAN/ABF; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Basil T. Darras, MD

Biography

Dr. Darras is the Joseph J. Volpe Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Associate Neurologist-in-Chief, Chief of the Division of Clinical Neurology, and Director of the Neuromuscular Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Darras is a pediatric neurologist with advanced training and certification in human genetics and neuromuscular medicine. His clinical focus is the care of children with neuromuscular conditions originating from inherited or acquired conditions of the motor unit. His primary research focus is the molecular genetics, diagnostics, and therapeutics of Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophies and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and defining the indications for new diagnostic methodologies in the evaluation of children with pediatric neuromuscular diseases. He is Principal Investigator for the Boston Children’s site of NIH’s NeuroNEXT clinical research network and the Pediatric Neuromuscular Clinical Research (PNCR) Network, funded originally by the SMA Foundation and now by CureSMA. He serves as site PI for the clinical trials for Spinraza® (nusinersen), Zolgensma® (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), and Evrysdi™ (risdiplam), approved by the FDA as the first three treatments for SMA. He receives frequent invitations to lecture at national and international meetings on topics related to his expertise in neuromuscular disorders and genetics. He has published over 240 original reports in peer-reviewed journals and over 80 chapters, reviews and editorials. He is Editor-in-Chief for the second edition of Neuromuscular Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence: A Clinician’s Approach, published by Elsevier in 2015, and is reprising his role as Editor of the unit on Neuromuscular Disorders in the upcoming 7th edition of Volpe’s Neurology of the Newborn (Elsevier, 2024).

Disclosures

B. Darras serves on the scientific advisory board for Hoffman LaRoche, Cytokinetics Inc, Vertex Inc, Sarepta Therapeutics, Biogen, AveXis, PTC Therapeutics, and AveXis Ad hoc SAB member; no financial interests in these companies; receives publishing royalties for Various title - UpToDate, One videotaped presentation - "Hypotonia" Oakstone Medical Publishing, and Elsevier royalties for 2 books; serves as speaker bureaus for Biogen. Dr. Darras receives research support from PTC Therapeutics, Scholar Rock, Sarepta Therapeutics, Biogen, Summit, AveXis, Roche, Fibrogen, Santhera, Cytokinetics, NIH/NINDS, SMA Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Slaney Family Fund for SMA; and has received speaker honorarium from the AAN.

Josep Dalmau, MD, PhD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Dalmau received his MD and PhD from the Autonoma University of Barcelona, and trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, after which he joined the faculty. He is currently Professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)-IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, and Adjunct Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Dalmau’s research focuses on autoimmune encephalitis and related syndromes. He is the recipient of numerous awards, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is Editor of Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation.

Disclosures

J. Dalmau serves on the Editorial board for Neurology and is the Editor of Neurology: Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation and his spouse serves on the editorial board for Current Treatment Options in Neurology; he has patents for the following autoantibody tests: Ma2, NMDA receptor, GABAb receptor, DPPX receptor, GABAa receptor, and IgLON5; receives publishing royalties from Neurology, Medlink Neurology, and spouse receives publishing royalties from Neurology; serves as a consultant for Janssen Research & Development; receives royalty payments for the Ma2 autoantibody test, GABA(B) receptor autoantibody tests, GABA(A) receptor, Athena Diagostics via Memoral Sloan Kettering, Euroimmun, DPPX, IgLON5 autoantibody tests, Euroimmun, ICREA, IDIBAPS, Inc via University of Pennsylvania along with his spouse, and is not currently generating income for the NMDA receptor. Dr. Dalmau receives research support from SAGE Therapeutics, Euroimmun Inc, Instituto Carlos, CIBERER Acciones Cooperativas Complementarias Intramurales, Edmond J Safra Foundation, Cellex Foundation, La Caixa Foundation Health Foundation, Pablove Foundation Childhood Cancer, and the University of Utah serving as a clinical trial site to evaluate Inebilizumab in anti-NMDARe; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Marianne de Visser, MD, PHD

Biography

Dr. de Visser was trained as a neurologist at the University Hospital of Amsterdam and subsequently obtained a position at the Department of Neurology. In 1988 and 1989 she was a visiting scientist at Dr. Andrew Engel’s lab at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Her research interests are rare neuromuscular disorders such as myositis, hereditary neuropathies, motor neuron disorders. 

Disclosures

M. de Visser has served on the scientific advisory board for Ad hoc consultant for Seelos Therapeutics, Scientific Advisory Committee NDF, and Paid lectures for Sanofi Genzyme; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Kathleen Digre MD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Digre is a Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Professor of Ophthalmology and Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She directs the division of Headache and Neuro-ophthalmology and has served as Vice-Chair for faculty development, equity, inclusion and diversity in Neurology. Dr. Digre was the president of the North American Neuro-ophthalmology and the American Headache Society. Dr. Digre sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Neuro-ophthalmology. She has over 200 publications and has co-authored several textbooks. Working with the North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society (NANOS) and the University of Utah’s Eccles Health Sciences Library, she helped to develop a virtual library in neuro-ophthalmology—NOVEL. She is senior editor of the Moran Core.

Disclosures

K. Digre serves on the scientific advisory board for  Data Safety and Monitoring Board: IIH Evolve Trial, and Invex therapeutics; has served on the editorial board for the Journal of Neuro-ophthlamology; has received publishing royalties from Imaging in Neurology, Elsevier, in 2016 for 7 Domains of Women's Health, Kendall Hunt, and in 2016 for the Case-based Eye Pain, and Springer in 2018; has received research support from the NIH, and ARRA for NORDIC. Dr. Digre has received royalty payments for Methods, systems, and apparatus for reducing the frequency and/or severity of photophobic responses or for modulating circadian cycles in 2014 and funds were donated to the ophthalmology at the University of Utah; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Alberto Espay, MD, MSc, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Espay is a Professor and Endowed Chair of the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Center for Parkinson’s disease at the University of Cincinnati. He currently serves as President-Elect of the Pan-American Section of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society. He directs the first biomarker study of aging (CCBPstudy.com) designed to match people with neurodegenerative disorders to available therapies from which they are most biologically suitable to benefit, regardless of their clinical diagnoses.

Disclosures

A. Espay has served on the scientific advisory boards for Abbvie, Neuroderm, Neurocrine, Amneal, Acadia, Acorda, Kyowa Kirin, Sunovion, Lundbeck, and USWorldMeds; has served on the editorial board for Editorial board member of the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, European Journal of Neurology, and JAMA Neurology; receives publishing royalties from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, and Cambridge University Press, and Springer; and serves as a consultant for Abbvie, Neuroderm, Neurocrine, Amneal, Acadia, Acorda, Kyowa Kirin, Sunovion, Lundbeck, and USWorldMeds. Dr. Espay receives research support from the NIH and Michael J Fox Foundation; serves as speaker bureaus for Acadia, Sunovion, and USWorldMeds; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sarina Falcione, BSc, PhD student

Biography

Ms. Falcione is a PhD student at the University of Alberta in the Department of Medicine. Her PhD research investigates the role and contribution of monocytes to coagulation in patients with stroke with expertise in gene expression, thrombosis, and immunity.

Disclosures

S. Falcione has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

 

Alfonso Fasano, MD, PhD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Alfonso Fasano holds the Chair in Neuromodulation at the University of Toronto and University Health Network. He is a Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Neurology) at the University of Toronto. He is a staff neurologist and co-director of the Surgical Program for Movement Disorders at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. He is also staff neurologist at the Hospital of Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Fasano is a Clinician Investigator at the Krembil Research Institute and KITE – Toronto Rehabilitation Hospital and sits in the scientific advisory board of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation and International Essential Tremor Foundation. He’s the co-chair of the normal pressure hydrocephalus study group and of the tremor study group of the International Parkinson Movement Disorders Society and of the Functional Neurosurgical Working Group of the Parkinson Study Group; he’s also a member of the Tremor Research Group.

Dr. Fasano’s main areas of interest are the treatment of movement disorders with advanced technology, pathophysiology, and treatment of tremor and gait disorders.

Disclosures

A. Fasano serves on the scientific advisory board of Abbvie, Boston Scientific, Sunovion, and Ipsen; serves on the editorial board of Movement Disorders, Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, and Parkinsonism and Related Disorders; has served as a consultant for Medtronic, Abbvie, Abbott, Ceregate, and Boston Scientific. A. Fasano receives research support from Chiesi Pharmaceutics, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Neureca Onlus, AFaR, the Division of Neurology - University of Toronto, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Weston Foundation Chair in Neuromodulation, and Multidisciplinary Care; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Massimo Filippi, MD, FEAN, FAAN

Biography

Prof. Filippi is currently: Full Professor of Neurology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Director of the Residency School in Neurology, and President of the Bacherlor’s Degree in Physiotherapy at the same University; Chair of the Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Units, Director of the MS Center, Director of the Neurophysiology Service, and Director of the Neuroimaging Research Unit at IRCCS Scientific Institute San Raffaele, Milan. His research activity has always focused on the definition of the mechanisms leading to progressive accumulation of irreversible physical disability and cognitive impairment in various neurological conditions. He is member of several national and international Scientific Societies and Boards where he covered or is covering institutional roles. He is author of over 1460 papers, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurology, Associate Editor of Human Brain Mapping, Radiology, and Neurological Sciences, and member of the Editorial Boards of many international scientific journals. In 2001, Prof. Filippi was awarded the Rita Levi Montalcini Prize for his outstanding contributions to the study of MS.

Disclosures

M. Filippi serves on the scientific advisory board for Alexion, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, Sanofi-Genzyme, and Takeda; has served on the editorial boards for Journal of Neurology, Neurological Sciences, Human Brain Mapping, and Radiology; and has served as a consultant for Alexion, Almirall, Biogen, Merck, Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi; and has received research support from Biogen Idec, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Roche, Italian Ministry of Health, and Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla (FISM). Dr. Filipi has received speaker honoraria from Bayer, Biogen, Celgene, Chiesi Italia SpA, Eli Lilly, Genzyme, Janssen, Merck-Serono, Neopharmed Gentili, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, TEVA, and AAN.

Robert J. Fox, MD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Fox is a clinical neurologist and researcher focused on MS and other neurological disorders. His current research interests include clinical trials in progressive multiple sclerosis, innovative MRI techniques to evaluate the effects of MS treatments, and patient perceptions and experience regarding their MS. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and books, served as an advisor for more than 20 clinical trials and currently serves as Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Progressive MS Alliance.

Disclosures

R. Fox serves on the scientific advisory board for  AB Science, Biogen, Immunic,  Janssen, Novartis, and Sanofi, has served on the editorial board for Neurology and Multiple Sclerosis Journal; has served as a consultant for Lily, Siemens, Bristol Myers Squibb, TG Therapeutics, Sanofi, Novartis, Janssen,  Immunic, Greenwich Biosciences, Genzyme, Genentech, EMD Serono, Celgene, Biogen, and AB Science; and has received publishing royalties from Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, Demos Medical. Dr. Fox has received research support from Biogen, Novartis, and Sanofi; and has received honoraria from the AAN.; has served on the editorial board for Neurology; has received research support from the  NIH, NMSS, and Department of Defense; and is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer for eSupport Health. Dr. Leavitt has received travel funding from MSXchange and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Daniel Friedman, MD, MSc, FAES

Biography

Daniel Friedman, MD, MSc, FAES, is Professor of Neurology and Associate Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and Co-Director of the EEG laboratory at NYU Langone Health. He specializes in the treatment of teenagers and adults with difficult to control epilepsy. He also performs research to better understand the causes of morbidity and mortality of epilepsy and performs clinical trials of novel interventions.

Disclosures

D. Friedman serves on the scientific advisory boards for Neurelis; has a patent for the Subgaleal EEG monitor and patent pending for the LCP Electrode Array; receives publishing royalties from Oxford University Press; receives research support from Neuropace, Epitel, Lundbeck, Epilepsy Foundation of America, NIH; receives equity interest for Neuroview Technology; receives royalty payments for technology or inventions from Neuroview Technology; receives salary support for consulting and clinical trials related activities preformed on the behalf of The Epilepsy Study Consortium; receives no personal income support for activities performed on the behalf of The Epilepsy Study Consortium; NYU receives a fixed amount from The Epilepsy Study Consortium for Dr. Friedman's salary. Within the past two years, The Epilepsy Study Consortium received payments for research services performed by Dr. Friedman from: BioXcell, Cerevel, Cerebral, Epilex, Equilibre, Jannsen, Lundbeck, Praxis, Puretech, Neurocrine, SK Life Science, Supernus, UCB, and Xenon. D. Friedman has recieved speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Deborah I. Friedman, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHS

Biography

Dr. Friedman is a neurologist in Dallas, TX, most recently a professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and has been in practice for 34 years. She specializes in headache medicine and neuro-ophthalmology and is experienced in general neurology, migraine disorders, headache disorders, and botulinum toxin injections for headache. She has more than 130 publications and over 500 citings.

Disclosures

D. Friedman has served on the scientific advisory board for Lundbeck, Allergan, Amgen, Autonomic Technologies, Inc, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, electroCore, Eli Lilly, Revance, Supernus, Zosano Impel, Satsuma, and Teva (*In insolvency); serves on the editorial board for Neurology Reviews, Headache, Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Medscape (contributing author and senior advisor, and Migraine Center of Excellence; and receives research support from Merck, Electrocore, Autonomic Technologies, Inc, Eli Lilly, Zosano, and Allergan. Dr. Friedman's non-financial disclosures includes Board of Directors, American Headache Society Medical Advisory Board, Spinal CSF Leak Foundation Medical Advisory Board, and Healthy Women; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Joseph Friedman, MD

Biography

Dr. Friedman received his BA in mathematics at the University of Chicago, taught math in Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer, then obtained an MA from Washington University in mathematics before switching to medicine. He attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and did his neurology residency at the Neurological Institute of NY, graduating in 1982. He has been at Brown since then as a clinical neurologist, teacher, and clinical researcher focusing on behavior disorders in Parkinson disease and neuroleptic induced movement disorders.

Disclosures

J. Friedman serves on the scientific advisory board for the safety monitoring baord dor NIH trial; has recieved publishing royalties for Making the Connection Between Brain and Behavior: Coping with Parkinson's Disease (Springer Press) and Psychiatry for Neurologists (Cambridge University Press); serves as a consultant for EPI-Q. J. Friedman receives research support from NIH, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Carlos Garcia-Esperon, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Garcia-Esperon is a stroke neurologist, currently Director of the Hunter Stroke Services at John Hunter Hospital (Newcastle, Australia) and a member of the New South Wales Telestroke network. He grew up in rural Spain (Galicia) triggering his passion on telestroke and facilitating access to stroke care to patients from rural, regional and remote areas. This is the main reason he chose to move from Spain to Australia 6 years ago. He performed his PhD under Prof Parsons, Levi, Spratt and A/Prof Bivard supervision, focused on new applications of multimodal imaging and its use in rural areas. Currently he is working alongside and learning from Dr. Majersik on different telestroke research projects.

Disclosures

C. Garcia-Esperon has received funding for travel to attend a conference from Boehringer Ingelheim and Bayer and speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Emily Gilmore, MD, MSc, FACNS, FNCS

Biography

Dr. Gilmore is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Medical Director of the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit as well as Co-Director of both the Critical Care EEG Monitoring and NeuroTrauma programs. She specializes in the personalized treatment of patients with acute brain injury, with a particular clinical focus on the care of patients with status epilepticus, traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cardiac arrest. She performs research on the detection and treatment of secondary brain injury using advanced neuromonitoring techniques and the impact of multimodal biomarkers in predicting poor outcome across a wide spectrum of critically ill brain injured patients.

Disclosures

E. Gilmore serves on the scientific advisory board for the UCB, the editorial boards for the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology, Neurocritical Care Journal, and Medicak, and the scientific advisory board for NORSE Institute; serves as a consultant for UCB; receives research support from the NIH for ELECTRO-BOOST, Epibios4rx, BOOST-3, and DOD, TEMPLE, site-PI. She has received funding to travel or speaker honoraria from the ACNS and NCS to speak at the annual meeting, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Nicole R. Gonzales, MD

Biography

Dr. Gonzales is Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She obtained her medical degree from McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, completed her neurology residency at the University of Colorado and completed a neurovascular fellowship at McGovern Medical School. Dr. Gonzales has participated in many landmark clinical trials in acute stroke treatment and secondary stroke prevention. She is actively involved in fellow, resident and student training. Dr. Gonzales is also committed to providing opportunities for exposure to medicine for historically excluded communities and developing mentorship programs for neurologists.

Disclosures

N.R. Gonzales has served on the FDA Advisory Committee of the Neurological Devices Panel; serves on the Editorial Board of Neurology; has served on the Abbott Global Stroke Specialist Medical Advisory Board; has received research support from NIH/NINDS and from an IGNITE Award; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Steven Greenberg, MD, MS

Biography

Dr. Greenberg, M.D, M.S. is a clinical neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He completed internship, neurology residency, and neuromuscular disease fellowship programs at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California San Francisco, and was a National Library of Medicine Fellow in Medical Informatics at the Harvard/Children’s Hospital Informatics Program in Boston. His clinical and laboratory research focus involves translational medicine, with particular interest in diagnostics and therapeutics for the autoimmune muscle diseases dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis. Dr. Greenberg received an A.B. degree in Mathematics from Princeton University, an M.S. degree in Medical Informatics from MIT, and an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School through the Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology Program.

Disclosures

S. Greenberg has a patent for KLRG1 depletion therapy; serves as a consultant for Abcuro, Inc; recieves research support from Harvard Medical School Blavatnik Translational Center; has license fees for KLRG1 target and Abcuro Inc to Brigham and Women's Hospital; receives royalty payments for Myositis diagnostics and Medimmune to Brigham and Women's Hospital; Founder and stockholder Abcuro Inc. Dr. Greenberg is the founder, serves as a consultant, and serves on the scientific advisory board for Abcuro Inc; has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Mar Guasp, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Guasp received her MD and PhD from the University of Barcelona and is currently a staff neurologist at the Neuroimmunology Unit of the Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona and a post-doctoral research fellow in Prof. Dalmau’s Laboratory at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). Her main research interest is the pathogenesis of autoimmune neuronal disorders, with a particular focus on biomarker discovery and the underlying inflammatory and synaptic alterations of behavioral, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms.

Disclosures

M. Guasp has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Laura Hancock, PhD

Biography

Dr. Hancock is a clinical neuropsychologist at the Cleveland Clinic in the Neurological Institute. Her research focuses mainly on cognitive and emotional functioning in people with MS, but also individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Her current work focuses on several projects, including improving our understanding of cognition in older adults with MS, improving gray matter MR imaging to better measure total disease burden in MS, and the identification of sensory and motor changes which might detect individuals in midlife who are at high risk for preclinical Alzheimer's disease.  

Disclosures

L. Hancock has received research support from the NIH and Bristol Myers Squibb; has served as a consultant for Catamount Medical Education; and received speaker honoraria from Catamount Medical Education, Can Do MS, and the AAN.

 

Mausaminben Hathidara, MD, RPNI

Biography

Dr. Hathidara is a board-certified physician in Neurology and Vascular Neurology. Dr. Hathidara is also a Certified Registered Physician in Neurovasvular interpretation, and Director of Neurosonology lab at Altoona UPMC. Her research interest includes transcranial Doppler use for stroke management, acute stroke treatment and role of neuro images, cardio-embolic strokes.

Disclosures

M. Hathidara has received speaker honoraria from the AAN. 

Leslie Hayes, MD

Biography

Dr. Hayes is a pediatric neuromuscular specialist at Boston Children's Hospital. She completed her residency in pediatric neurology at Boston Children's Hospitals followed by neuromuscular fellowship at Mass General Brigham. She is part of the Spinal muscular atrophy multidisciplinary clinic and is involved in clinic

Disclosures

L.Hayes has recieved speaker honoraria from the AAN.

 

Babak Hooshmand, MD, PhD, MPH

Biography

Dr. Hooshmand obtained his MPH and PhD degrees from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Clinical residency in neurology at the Ulm University Hospital in Germany, specialist in neurology since 2021. Major research interest: the impact of modifiable risk factors on dementia, cognitive impairment, and structural brain changes.

Disclosures

B. Hooshmand has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

 

Bruce Hermann, PhD, Professor Emeritus

Biography

Dr. Hermann is a clinical neuropsychologist whose primary clinical and research interests involve the natural histories of the cognitive and behavioral complications of the epilepsies in children and adults and their neuroimaging correlates.

Disclosures

B. Hermann serves on the advisory boards for the DSMB for Medtronics (Slate Study), serves on the editorial board for the Journal of International Neuropsychological Society; receives research support from the NIH; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

David J. Irwin, MD

Biography

Dr. Irwin is the Director of the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center and co-leads the Lewy body Dementia Association and Cure PSP Research Centers of Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of medicine. He has dual training in cognitive neurology and neuropathology and his lab focuses on integrating human brain histopathology with imaging methods to develop and validate tissue-sensitive biomarkers to facilitate clinical trials for emerging therapies for FTD, LBD AD and related disorders.

Disclosures

D. J. Irwin serves on a scientific advisory board for Denali Therapeutics, serves on the Editorial Board of Neurology; receives research support from NIH/NINDS, NIH/NIA, and Penn Institute on Aging; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Lauren Jackson, MD

Biography

Dr. Jackson is a senior associate consultant physician and assistant professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr. Jackson completed her neurology residency and clinical movement disorders and deep brain stimulation fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester before joining faculty in 2022. Dr. Jackson's academic interests include clinician education and her clinical practice and research interests involve ataxia and deep brain stimulation.

Disclosures

L. Jackson has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Lara Jehi, MD, MHCD

Biography

Dr. Jehi is professor of neurology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and an epilepsy specialist at Cleveland Clinic since 2006. She is the Chief Research Information Officer for the Cleveland Clinic Health System, and Director of the Outcomes Research program for epilepsy. She chairs several key commissions in the International League Against Epilepsy and the American Epilepsy Society. She has 190 peer-reviewed publications, 12 book chapters and is a regular reviewer for NIH study sections.

Disclosures

L. Jehi serves as Associate Editor of Epilepsy Open and as Senior Clinical Editor of Epilepsy Currents; receives research support from NCATS and NINDS. Dr. Jehi has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Glen Jickling, MD

Biography

Dr. Jickling is an Associate Professor in the Division of Neurology and the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute at the University of Alberta. He is a stroke neurologist and clinician scientist. Dr. Jickling’s research focuses on the role of the immune system in cerebrovascular disease including patterns of gene expression and epigenetic regulation of immune cells in stroke. He is on the editorial board of Neurology and Stroke. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Stroke Genetics and Genomics and is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the University Hospital Foundation, and the NIH.

Disclosures

G. Jickling receives research support from CIHR, NIH, Heart & Stroke Foundation, and University Hospital Foundation; serves on the editorial boards of Neurology and Stroke; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Henry J. Kaminski, MD

Biography

Dr. Kaminski, MD serves as the Meta A. Neumann Professor of Neurology at the George Washington University. Dr. Kaminski has performed clinical, translational, and basic investigations related to myasthenia gravis for over 25 years. In 2019 Dr. Kaminski established as principal investigator the NIH Rare Disease Clinical Research Network site, MGNet.

Disclosures

H. Kaminski serves on the scientific advisory board for both Roche and UCB; holds a patent for target therapy of complement inhibitors to neuromuscular junctions to treat myasthenia gravis; serves as a consultant for Argenx, Takeda, UCB, Cabelletta Bio, Lincoln Therapeutics, and Merk EMD Serono; receives research support from various foundations and societies including NIH-funded MGNet Clinical Trial Outcome Measure Working Group and the Rare Disease Network for Myasthenia Gravis; and has acted as an expert witness in legal proceedings since 2010. Dr. Kaminski has received research support from government entities, including serving as the principal investigator of the Rare Disease Network for MGNet National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, working on targeted therapy for myasthenia gravis with ARC Biotechnology, and acting as a co-investigator for antibodies as a new therapeutic for myasthenia gravis with Minivax LLC. Dr. Kaminksi has received gifts for UCB Educational Presentation; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Andres M. Kanner, MD, FAAN, FANA, FAES

Biography

Dr. Kanner is quadrupled boarded in Neurology, Psychiatry, Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology. His research has focused on the psychiatric, neurosurgical and pharmacologic aspects of treatment-resistant epilepsy. He has authored and co-authored 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has edited and co-edited six textbooks.

Disclosures

A. Kanner has served on the scientific advisory boards for the Eisai Laboratories Xanon Laboratories Epilepsy Foundation of America; has served on the editorial board for Epilepsy.com as Co-Editor-in-Chief, Epilepsy & Behavior member editorial Board, CNS Spectrums Editorial Board, and Epileptic Disorders Member editorial Board; receives publishing royalties from Psychiatric Issues in Epilepsy, Controversial Issues in Psychiatric Aspects of Epilepsy, and treatment of Depression in Neurologic Disorders. Dr. Kanner receives research support, foundations and societies from the Epilepsy Foundation to serve as Co-Editor of Epilepsy.com its official publication and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Victoria Leavitt, PhD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Leavitt is a clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscience researcher. Her laboratory develops and tests mechanistic models of cognitive impairment informed by the companion theories of cognitive reserve, brain reserve, and brain maintenance. As a clinical trialist, she tests pharmacological treatments and behavioral interventions targeting brain health and cognitive health in neurologic populations. Her research is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Defense, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Disclosures

V. Leavitt serves on the scientific advisory board for Biogen and Novartis; has served on the editorial board for Neurology; has received research support from the  NIH, NMSS, and Department of Defense; and is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer for eSupport Health. Dr. Leavitt has received travel funding from MSXchange and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Linxin Li, DPhil

Biography

Dr. Li is a senior postdoctoral clinical research fellow at the Wolfson Centre for Prevention of Stroke and Dementia at Oxford University in the UK. She was trained in neurology in China and completed her PhD in clinical neurology at Oxford under the supervision of Professor Peter Rothwell. Her main research interest is clinical stroke epidemiology, with a particular focus on stroke etiology and young stroke. She works with the Oxford Vascular Study and is leading a multicenter cohort study looking at young stroke. Dr Li has published widely including in high-impact journals, such as the Lancet, Lancet Neurology, BMJ, Neurology, and Stroke, and was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the European Stroke Organisation for contribution in improving the understanding of the role of traditional and rare risk factors in cryptogenic stroke.

Disclosures

L. Li serves as Section Editor for Frontiers – Neurology, editor for BMC Neurology, serves on the editorial board for the ESO Education platform and the European Stroke Journal; has received research support from the Medical Research Foundation; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Raquel Lopez, MD, FAES

Biography

Dr. Lopez is an associate professor University of Miami. MiIler school of Medicine. Born in Colombia, completed Neurology at Boston University and Neurophysiology and Epilepsy at Beth Israel deaconess Medical Center. Double boarded Certification in Neurology and Epilepsy. Special interest include Psychogenic Seizures, Psychiatric comorbidities and women with epilepsy. I love dogs and enjoy traveling.

Disclosures

M. Lopez has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Kendra Pham, MD, MPH

Biography

Dr. Pham is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Utah, Department of Neurology, Division of Headache and Neuro-ophthalmology and specializes in Headache Medicine. She is currently the Headache Medicine Fellowship Program Director at the University of Utah. She completed her Adult Neurology Residency at the University of Utah and her Headache Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University. She is UCNS certified in Headache Medicine and has a strong interest in improving headache education.

Disclosures

K. Pham received research support from donor funds to the University of Utah to conduct small prospective research trial and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Mandy Leonard, PharmD, BCPS

Biography

Dr. Leonard earned her BS in Pharmacy and Doctorate of Pharmacy from Duquesne University, completed a Drug Information Practice Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina, and for the past 25 years, has been in charge of the Department of Pharmacy Drug Information Service at Cleveland Clinic.  She is responsible for drug shortages, drug recalls, REMS programs, drug use policy and formulary management for the Cleveland Clinic Health-System (21 hospitals). Dr. Leonard is also responsible for developing the drug budget annually and initiating and tracking drug cost savings initiatives. She is also responsible for coordinating all Cleveland Clinic pharmacy residency programs.

Disclosures

M. Leonard has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

William Macken, MB, BCh, MSc

Biography

Dr. William Macken is a trainee in medical genetics. He studied medicine in university college Dublin and trained in pediatrics and medical genetics in Dublin and the UK. He is currently completing a PhD in the application of genomic technologies and bioinformatic approaches to primary mitochondrial diseases. He is a research fellow at the NHS Highly Specialised Centre for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders London and the MRC International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Disease.

Disclosures

W. Macken has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Jennifer Juhl Majersik, MD, MS

Biography

Dr. Majersik is a vascular neurologist, serving as Stroke Center and Telestroke Director at the University of Utah. Outside of her clinical duties, she is the Principal Investigator for UT StrokeNet and Associate Editor for Stroke. She is currently (2022) a Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Health at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. There, she is exploring how to increase access to clinical trials and clinical care for rural stroke patients, learning from the experiences of the John Hunter Hospital stroke team, including superb clinicians such as Dr. Carlos Garcia-Esperon. The Fulbright has also given her and her family the opportunity to see first-hand the beauty of Australia and to learn how to translate Aussie-speak!

Disclosures

J.J. Majersik served on the Editorial Board of Neurology (2015-2021) and currently serves as an Associate Editor for Stroke; serves as a reviewer for UpToDate; receives research support from the NIH (NINDS and NICHD); and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Andrew Mammen, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Mammen obtaining his M.D. and Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins. After that Dr. Mammen completed his neurology residency and neuromuscular fellowship at the same institution. He co-founded the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center in 2007. In 2014, Andy moved to the NIH, where he is a Senior Investigator and Leader of the Muscle Disease Section. He maintains an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Neurology and Medicine at Hopkins, where he continues to see patients at the Myositis Center.

Disclosures

A. Mammen served on the editorial board for Experimental Neurology, Arthritis and Rheumatism, and Neurology; he holds a patent for a commercial test for anti-HMGCR antibodies that is licensed to INOVA diagnostics; he does not receive financial compensation for the test, but he received it prior to joining the NIH in 2014. Dr. Mammen receives research support from NIAMS/NIH and his spouse receives research support from NIDDK/NIH.

Alina Masters-Israilov, MD

Biography

Dr. Masters-Israilov is from Brooklyn, NY, which is where she attended medical school at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. She finished her neurology residency and served as chief resident at the Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. She then joined the Montefiore Headache Center to pursue her headache and facial pain fellowship, before joining as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is the associate director for the neurology clerkship and the director for the headache elective for WCM medical students.

Disclosures

A. Masters-Israilov has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Taylor McMillan, MA

Biography

Taylor McMillan is a pre-doctoral intern in neuropsychology at the University of Florida. Her primary clinical interests include neurosurgical populations and neurodegenerative conditions. Research interests include the interaction between wellness factors and brain health across epilepsy syndromes and neurodegenerative diseases; measurement of cognitive functions in epilepsy; and predictors for cognitive, behavioral, and functional comorbidities/outcomes in epilepsy across the lifespan.

Disclosures

T. McMillan has recieved speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Payam Mohassel, MD

Biography

Dr. Mohassel is a physician-scientist and adult neuromuscular neurologist. He obtained his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he remained for a medical internship, residency training in neurology, and clinical fellowship training in neuromuscular medicine before joining the NINDS neurogenetics branch for research training with Dr. Carsten Bonnemann. He then returned to Johns Hopkins as faculty. Dr. Mohassel’s research focuses on translational studies in genetic neuromuscular disorders and spans gene discovery efforts, preclinical mechanistic studies, and early phase interventional clinical trials.

Disclosures

P. Mohassel serves on the scientific advisory board for RYR1 foundation; serves on the editorial boards for Journal of Neuromuscular Disease and Neuromuscular Disorders; receives research support from Intramural NIH/NINDS; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Elena Moro, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Elena Moro is a Professor of Neurology at the Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France. She is currently the Director of the Movement Disorders Center, and the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neurological Rehabilitation and Forensic Medicine at the University Hospital (CHU) of Grenoble. Her major area of interest is surgical treatment of movement disorders, especially deep brain stimulation. She is currently the President-Elect of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN).

Disclosures

E. Moro serves on the scientific advisory board of the Medtronic and Newronika; has served on the editorial board as associate editor of Nature Parkinson diease journal, guest editor of European journal of neurology, editorial board member of Neurology, and editorial board member of Annals of Neurology.

Lucy Norcliffe-Kaufmann, PhD

Biography

Dr. Norcliffe-Kaufmann is an autonomic neuroscientist with over 20 years of training in clinical research. She is currently the lead scientist for the Parkinson Disease Program at 23andMe. Her research work has focused on the autonomic manifestations of synucleinopathies. She has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Neurology, Annals of Neurology and Brain.

Disclosures

L. Norcliffe-Kaufmann currently is employed by Theravance BioPharma from Dec 2020 as Senior Director, Clinical Science, Neurology; serves as an editorial board member for Clinical Autonomic Research; and serves as a consultant for Theravance BioPharma and PTC Therapeutics. Dr. Norcliffe-Kaufmann receives research support from Theravance Biopharma, NIH and FDA Office of Orphan Product Development, and Familial Dusautonomia Foundation; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Anna Pace, MD

Biography

Dr. Pace completed her MD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her neurology residency and headache medicine fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, where she is currently an Assistant Professor of Neurology. She is the Director of the Transgender Headache Medicine Program at Mount Sinai where she provides comprehensive care to the LGBTQIA+ community and aims to improve provider knowledge of the unique needs of this patient population. Dr. Pace is passionately involved in medical education, and she serves as the Director of the Headache Medicine Fellowship, the Director of the Resident and Fellows Headache Medicine Clinic, and as the Associate Course Director for the Brain and Behavior pre-clinical neurology course at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In these roles she interacts with students of all levels including APP’s, medical students, residents, and fellows, focusing on curricular development and enhancing the educational experience of learners in neurology.

Disclosures

A. Pace has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sarah T. Pendlebury, DPhil, FRCP, FESO

Biography

Prof. Pendlebury is a consultant physician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUHFT) and Professor of Medicine and Old Age Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She works 50/50 in clinical and research work. Her research is supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and focusses on the short- and long-term cognitive impacts of acute (systemic) illness and cerebrovascular disease.

Inspired by her particle physicist father, Sarah was initially accepted by the University of Cambridge to study physics but switched to medicine. After completing the undergraduate Medical Sciences Tripos at Cambridge, she moved to Oxford to complete her clinical medical degree, and then worked in Cornwall, London, Brighton and Grenoble, France before returning to Oxford in 1995. She completed her DPhil in stroke recovery in 1999 and then returned to registrar training in general medicine and geriatrics. From 2002 and the arrival of her first child, Sarah worked part time solely in clinical work at the John Radcliffe Hospital (now part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust-OUHFT). The advent of the National Institute for Health Research-NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre in 2008, set up by Professor Alastair Buchan and others, brought the opportunity to develop her research interests in the cognitive impacts of cerebrovascular disease and acute illness alongside clinical work as consultant physician.

Working with Professor Peter Rothwell, she conducted a landmark systematic review on the prevalence and incidence of dementia in stroke (Lancet Neurology 2009) and as part of the Oxford Vascular Study (OXVASC), determined the feasibility and validity of cognitive screening tests including in frail and older patients, and sources of bias in cognitive studies. Sarah led the assembly/ascertainment of dementia outcomes in OXVASC and how multiple methods of ascertainment and follow-up including using primary care selection could be used to mitigate selection and drop out especially of those most at-risk. This work culminated in another key paper (Lancet Neurology 2019) quantifying the risk of dementia associated with TIA and stroke and showing the tight coupling between severity of the acute event and dementia risk. In addition, this paper defined the excess risk of dementia relative to the age and sex-matched background population and showed that this was elevated even in those with TIA with risks highest in the immediate post-event period.

Building on this work, Sarah has gone on to produce reliable age-specific estimates of the burden and associates of cognitive frailty (delirium, dementia, impairment cognitive screening tests) in general medicine patients and across the acute hospital as a whole. These findings supported the case for routine cognitive screening and as Clinical Lead for Dementia and Delirium in OUHFT, Sarah developed, validated and led the implementation of routine cognitive screening comprising the Confusion Assessment Method-CAM for delirium, and the 10-point abbreviated mental test score-AMTS, for all unplanned admissions aged >70 years and younger patients with brain-at-risk (e.g. from previous stroke, MS, alcohol excess). This was subsequently built into the electronic patient record- EPR with OUHFT-wide screening including for delirium exceeding 10,000 screened/year and a six-fold improvement in administrative diagnostic (ICD-10) coding for delirium. Sarah has now exploited these EPR data to create the Oxford Cognitive Comorbidity, Frailty and Ageing Research Database (ORCHARD, 2015-, 30,000 in-patient episodes to date) for use in cognitive and physical frailty research. In parallel, she has developed a delirium susceptibility score to identify those at-risk which was implemented in EPR in 2022 and now flags delirium risk in real time in EPR to inform care.

Alongside her research, Sarah is a member of the Editorial Boards of Stroke, International Journal of Stroke, Neurology, and Cerebrovascular Diseases, author of four books covering neurology and general medicine, and senior editor of a series of case-based learning books (OUP). Sarah has a range of interests outside work including playing the oboe for the Radcliffe Hospital Orchestra and Tenor Sax in the Green-Templeton Big Band, hiking, and wild swimming.

Disclosures

S.T. Pendlebury serves on the Editorial Boards of Stroke, Cerebrovascular Diseases, International Journal of Stroke, and Neurology; receives publishing royalties from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press; serves as a consultant for a stroke research study for University of Michigan; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Robert Pitceathly, MB, ChB, MRCP, PhD

Biography

Dr. Pitceathly is an MRC Clinician Scientist and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, where he co-leads an NHS England nationally commissioned service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders. He also leads a research group at University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology. His research combines clinical observations with laboratory approaches to better understand the molecular basis and pathophysiological mechanisms of primary mitochondrial diseases, with the aim of developing treatments.

Disclosures

R. Pitceathly has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sharon Poisson, MD, MAS

Biography

Dr. Poisson is a Vascular Neurologist and Neurohospitalist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is the Medical Co-Director of the Comprehensive Stroke program as well as the Vascular Neurology fellowship director. Prior to joining the University of Colorado, she completed her Neurology Residency at the University of Michigan and her Vascular Neurology and research fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco. She has a specific research and clinical interest in stroke in young adults.

Disclosures

S. Poisson has served on the editorial board for the Neurohospitalist; has received research support from Biogen MA, NIH, and American Stroke Association/Bugher Foundation; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Amynah Pradhan, PhD

Biography

Dr. Amynah Pradhan is the Director for the Center of Clinical Pharmacology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. She investigates novel therapies for migraine and identified the delta opioid receptor as a promising target for this disorder. Ongoing studies in her lab are focused on the differential role of mu and delta opioid receptors in headache. Additionally, Dr. Pradhan’s work focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms that contribute to migraine chronicity, as well as overlapping mechanisms between migraine and neuropsychiatric conditions.

Disclosures

A. Pradhan serves as Associate Editor for Headache; receives research support from Lundbeck and the NIH, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Paolo Preziosa, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Paolo Preziosa is a Neurologist and PhD. He is currently Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, and Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. His research activity is mainly focused on the application of MRI in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating diseases to improve diagnostic criteria, to better understand their pathophysiology, and to monitor treatment responses. As Neurologist at the Neurology Unit and the MS Center of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, his clinical activity is mainly focused on the diagnosis and treatment MS and other inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. He is Author of 118 peer-review articles on indexed journals.

Disclosures

P. Preziosa has received research support from Italian Ministry of Health and Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla; and has received speaker honoraria from Roche, Biogen, Novartis, Merck Serono, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genzyme, Horizon, Sanofi, and AAN.

Nicholas Purcell, MD

Biography

Dr. Purcell is originally from South Dakota, where he attended medical school, and had the opportunity to participate in healthcare for rural communities, critical access hospitals, and Native American health. Currently he’s a PGY-4 Neurology resident at the University of Minnesota, and was recently accepted into the Neuromuscular medicine fellowship program at the University of Minnesota. He plans to provide comprehensive neuromuscular care during his career, including performing EMG, nerve conduction studies, and ultrasound; perform and interpret nerve/muscle biopsies; and establish or participate in a comprehensive ALS clinic.

Disclosures

N. Purcell has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Sujan Teegala Reddy, MD, MPH

Biography

Dr. Reddy graduated from the Mahatma Gandhi Mission's medical school, India. He received his master of public health (Epidemiology major) degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston. He graduated from the neurology residency program and subsequently the vascular neurology fellowship program at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas, Houston. He is currently a neuro-hospitalist at Mercy Hospital, Fort Smith, Arkansas. His research interests include acute stroke imaging to determine patient selection for endovascular thrombectomy and racial disparities in tele-stroke care.

Disclosures

S.T. Reddy serves on the Editorial Board of Case Reports in Neurology; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Amy E. Sanders, MD, MS, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Sanders is Medical Director of the Hartford Healthcare Memory Care Center in Wethersfield, CT. Previously, she was Director of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. Her primary clinical and research interests focus on neurocognitive function in older adults, including evaluation and management of Alzheimer disease and related disorders.

Dr. Sanders earned her medical degree at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY. She completed a medical internship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan and her neurology residency at Einstein/Montefiore and an aging and dementia fellowship at the Einstein Aging Study in the Bronx. She is board-certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. In addition, she completed a Master of Science, with distinction, in clinical research methods, at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. She is a 2016 graduate of the American Academy of Neurology’s prestigious Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum.

Dr. Sanders has served as site Principal Investigator for numerous clinical trials in Alzheimer disease, including the IDEAS trial of amyloid PET imaging in the clinical management of Alzheimer disease. Additionally, Dr. Sanders is a member of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) and the American Geriatrics Society. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). She served as Chair of the AAN’s subcommittee on Quality and Safety from 2017-2019 and on the AAN’s new Quality Committee from 2019-2022. She is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and has recently been appointed to the Board of the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties.

Disclosures

Dr. Sanders is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association; performed disability file reviews as an independent consultant between 2015 and 2018; is a member of the Biogen Speaker's Bureau for Alzheimer isease; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Rodolfo Savica, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Savica is a professor of neurology and epidemiology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His principal research interests include neurodegenerative diseases (in particular, dementias and dementia with Lewy bodies), biomarkers and Parkinson's disease and early onset Parkinson's disease. His work focuses largely on the epidemiologic, environmental, genetic pre-motor risk factors and the clinical features of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. He is the section head of the Neuroepidemiology section of the AAN and the Chair of the early onset Parkinson disease study group of the International Movement Disorders Society. Dr. Savica's interests include predicting clinical phenotypes of the different clinical types of alpha-synucleinopathy and dementing diseases. In particular, adopting a multidisciplinary multi dementia approach Dr. Savica is studying the individualization and customization of prognosis and treatments in Parkinson disease, dementia Lewy bodies and related disorders.

Disclosures

R. Savica served on the editorial board of the Journal of Parkinson Disease; has received unrestricted research grant from Acadia Pharmaceutical Inc, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN; serves as a consultant for Medtronic and education consultant. R. Savica receives research support for commercial entities, academic entities and foundation societies for Ipsen ABBOTT, IDEX, Grenoble Aples University, and AMADYS France Parkinson; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, MS, PhD

Biography

Dr. Scarmeas was born and raised in Athens, Greece. After obtaining an M.D. degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he moved to the US and had Neurology residency training and then a 2-year clinical fellowship in Aging and Dementia at Columbia University Medical Center. He also completed a Masters degree in Biostatistics – Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Dr. Scarmeas joined the faculty of Columbia University in 2002. He is currently Professor of Neurology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, while he maintains a faculty position at Columbia University in New York.

His research interests include cognitive reserve (i.e., how higher IQ, education, more demanding occupational attainments, or more engagement in cognitive-social-physical leisure - lifestyle activities can help elderly cope better with the damage caused to their brains by Alzheimer’s disease and aging and therefore reduce their risk for dementia and slow down their rates of cognitive and functional decline). In addition, he has extensively investigated the contribution of diet (in particular composite dietary patterns such as a Mediterranean-type diet and others) in relation to dementias, Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive and other aspects of aging. See more information regarding Dr. Scarmeas’ work. 

Disclosures

N. Scarmeas serves as Data Safety Monitoring Board chair for an NIH-funded clinical trial for Albert Einstein College of Medicine; receives research support from Novo Nordisk; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Emmanuelle Schindler, MD, PhD, FAHS

Biography

Dr. Schindler is Medical Director of the Headache Center of Excellence at Veterans Affairs (VA) Connecticut Healthcare System and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine. Among her efforts to optimize headache diagnosis and management, she has worked to expand headache care to Veterans and educate practitioners nationally within the Veterans Health Administration. She has also developed and executed the first controlled trials investigating the effects of psilocybin in headache disorders. Previously, Dr. Schindler studied the neuropharmacology of psychedelics and other serotonergic compounds in the context of receptor binding and intracellular signaling.

Disclosures

E. Schindler has a patent for Psychedelic Treatment for Headache Disorders; and receives research support from Ceruvia Lifesciences and Wallace Research Foundation. Dr. Schindler's non-financial disclosures include Ceruvia Lifesciences scientific advisory board and Clusterbusters scientific advisory board; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Hussam Shaker, MD

Biography

Dr. Shaker is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Michigan State University. He is currently the Medical Director of Epilepsy Department and Stereotactic EEG Program in Trinity Health Saint Mary’s, Michigan. His main focus is presurgical and invasive evaluation of intractable focal epilepsies. He received his medical degree from Tishreen University in Syria and completed his neurology residency in Spectrum Health/Michigan State University and served as a chief resident. He completed his two-year clinical fellowship in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio and served as a chief fellow.

Disclosures

H. Shaker has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Binit Shah, MD

Biography

Dr. Shah is a native of North Carolina. He earned his medical degree from the Wake Forest School of Medicine, completed neurology residency at Northwestern University, and movement disorders and deep brain stimulation fellowship at the Toronto Western Hospital. He is an associate professor of neurology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he is division director of the Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders Division and founded the movement disorders fellowship program. He has worked extensively with Jeff Elias in neurosurgery on early and pivotal trials of MRI-guided focused ultrasound in essential tremor and Parkinson disease.

Disclosures

B. Shah has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Robert E. Shapiro, MD, PhD

Biography

Robert E. Shapiro is a Professor emeritus of Neurological Sciences at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. He holds an MA from University of Oxford, a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MD from Columbia University. He completed a Residency in Neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is the Founding President of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, Past President of the Headache Cooperative of New England, and Past Member of the Board of Directors of the American Headache Society. His publications have appeared in Nature, Science, Science Translational Medicine, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Disclosures

R. Shapiro serves on scientific advisory boards for Lilly, including the Data Monitoring Committee and Research Steering Committee; serves as research consultant for Lilly and Lundbeck; has received travel or speaker honoraria from Lilly; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Izabella Shuvayev, MD

Biography

Dr. Shuvayev is a geriatric psychiatrist at the Memory Care Center, where she diagnoses and provides continuing care to older adults with cognitive and behavioral problems. Dr. Shuvayev earned her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean and completed her residency in Adult Psychiatry at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital. She then completed a fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY. Dr. Shuvayev is board-certified in both Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Shuvayev speaks English, Russian, and Spanish.

Dr. Shuvayev serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and enjoys teaching residents during their rotations at the Memory Care Center. She serves as Hartford Hospital's Site Director for the University of Connecticut School Of Medicine's Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship. She also coordinates a geriatric psychiatry seminar for psychiatry residents and APRN geriatric psychiatry fellows at the Institute of Living. She serves on the Membership Committee of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry for which she's been a member since 2018.

Disclosures

I. Shuvayev has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Nicholas Silvestri, MD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Silvestri is an associate professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, where he is also Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs. He completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University, received his MD from the University at Buffalo, and completed his internship in internal medicine, residency in neurology, and fellowship in clinical neuromuscular medicine at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is board-certified in neurology, neuromuscular medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine. He is the former program director of the adult neurology residency program. Over the past several years, his research interests have included myasthenia gravis, diabetic neuropathy, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and textbooks and has presented talks nationally and internationally.

Disclosures

N. Silvestri serves on the scientific advisory board for Argenx, Alexion, Immunovant, UCB, and advisory board for Regeneron in 2020; serves on the editorial boards for Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease; serves on speakers’ bureaus for Alexion and Strongbridge; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

David Smith, DPhil, FMedSciD

Biography

Dr. Sabayan is a clinician researcher with major interest in preventive neurology and brain health. After graduation as MD, he studied master of science in aging and vitality and received his PhD in clinical neuroscience from Leiden University. He completed his residency and fellowship in neurology and vascular neurology at Northwestern University and Massachusetts General Hospital, and currently his clinical practice focuses on cerebrovascular care.

Disclosures

D. Smith has received compensation for US Patents: 9,364,497 B2 and 10,966,947 B2 and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Stacy V. Smith, MD

Biography

Dr. Smith is dual-fellowship trained in Headache Medicine and Neuro-Ophthalmology. Her clinical practice is dedicated to headache and neuro-ophthalmological disorders, including expert care of idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients. She also specializes in concussion management and serves as a motorsports neurology consultant.

Disclosures

S. Smith has received publishing royalties for Clinical Pathways in Neuro- Ophthalmology: An Evidence-Based Approach; serves as a consultant for the American Medical Response, NASCAR Safety Team; serves on speakers' bureaus for Lilly, Teva, Biohaven, and Abbvie/Allega; has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Nicole B. Sur, MD

Biography

Dr. Sur is a Stroke Neurologist in Miami, Florida practicing at the University of Miami and Jackson Health hospital systems. She specializes in the care of patients with cerebrovascular disorders with an interest in cardioembolic stroke and the overlap between cardiac arrhythmias and stroke. Dr. Sur's research is focused on disparities in the treatment and prevention of atrial fibrillation-related stroke and understanding the system-level and patient-level barriers to providing guideline-recommended therapies to patients with stroke and atrial fibrillation.

Disclosures

N.Sur holds employment at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology; has served on the scientific advisory board for the American Heart Association and AFib Detection in Cryptogenic Stroke and Secondary Stroke Prevention; serves on the editorial board for the JACC: Advances and Stroke; and receives research support from the NIH/NCATS KL2 career development award and Florida Stroke Registry as a Co-investigator of the Florida Department of Health. Dr. Sur is involved with other activities like the National Board of Medical Examiners as part of the USMLE Test Materials Development Committee; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Tachira Tavarez, MD

Biography

Dr. Tavarez completed her neurology residency training at the University of Maryland Medical Center, followed by fellowship training in neurocritical care at the Rush University Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. Upon completing fellowship, she returned to Baltimore, Maryland to join the Neurocritical Care division at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her research interests include nutrition and microbiome in the patients with acute neurologic injury.

Disclosures

T. Tavarez has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Avner Thaler, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Thaler is a movement disorder neurologist with a research focus on genetics of Parkinson disease (PD). His clinical research of genetic PD enabled the description of both GBA and LRRK2 associated PD phenotypes and better genotype-phenotype correlations utilizing both imaging and biomics techniques for the understanding of the prodromal phase of Parkinson disease.

Disclosures

A. Thaler received research support from MJFF; serves as a consultant for Capsida Biotherapeutics; and has recieved speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Maudy Theunissen, MD

Biography

Dr. Theunissen is a PhD candidate at the Center for Lysosomal and Metabolic Diseases of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in the Netherlands. I focus on research into the mechanisms that underlie the differences in response to enzyme replacement therapy in adults with Pompe disease. By combining clinical data and patient reported outcomes I hope to improve and personalize treatment.

Disclosures

M. Theunissen has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Zachary D. Threlkeld, MD

Biography

Dr. Threlkeld cares for critically ill patients with acute neurologic illness, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and epilepsy. He completed his residency training in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and joined the Stanford Neurocritical Care program after completing fellowship training in neurocritical care at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has a particular clinical and research interest in traumatic brain injury. His research uses advanced imaging modalities like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to better understand disorders of consciousness.

Disclosures

Z.D. Threlkeld serves on the editorial board of Neurology: Clinical Practice and Frontiers, Neurotrauma; has received a Research Fellowship Training Grant from the Neurocritical Care Society; and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Gretchen E. Tietjen, MD

Biography

Dr. Tietjen is Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Neurology at University of Toledo, specializing in headache medicine and vascular neurology. Her research focuses on the relationship of migraine to stroke and other comorbidities, and includes investigation of the vascular biology in migraine, the association of childhood maltreatment and migraine, and the effects of early life stress on vascular and brain biology in a rodent model. Dr. Tietjen has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, reviews and editorials, and her research has garnered national awards, including the 2009 Stroke Innovation Award from the journal Stroke, the Association of Migraine Disorders 2020 Innovation Award, as well as the American Headache Society’s 2008 Seymour Solomon Award, 2011 Harold G. Wolff Award, 2017 John Graham Award, 2019 Women’s Health Research Award, and 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Disclosures

G.E. Tietjen serves as Chair of the Publications Committee for the American Headache Society; has received speaker honoraria from CME Outfitters and the AAN, and honoraria for grant review activities as part of NINDS Special Emphasis Panel; and her spouse owns common stock in Johnson & Johnson and Stryker.

David E. Vaillancourt, PhD

Biography

Dr. Vaillancourt is Professor and Chair in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at University of Florida. Vaillancourt’s research focuses on neurodegeneration in movement and cognitive disorders, and his laboratory specializes in both human and small animal imaging in vivo and ex vivo. The laboratory is also focused on machine learning and software development to improve imaging-based solutions for Parkinson’s and dementia diagnoses.

Disclosures

D. Vaillancourt has served on the scientific advisory board for the National Institutes of Health Parkinson's Disease Biomarker Program; serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Motor Behavior and Movement Disorders; he currently holds a patent for imaging analysis technology for Parkinsonism;and serves as a consultant for the Florida International University. Dr. Vaillancourt receives research support from the National Institutes of Health and 1Florida ADRC; has received funding for travel or speaker honoraria for Automated Imaging Diagnostics, Neuroimaging Solutions, and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Erika Williams, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. Williams, M.D. Ph.D. is currently a neuromuscular fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed internship and neurology residency at Massachusetts General Brigham. She also completed a PhD in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University within the Program in Neuroscience under the mentorship of Dr Stephen Liberles, Ph.D on interoception in the autonomic nervous system. She works clinically in the diagnosis and management of patients with neuromuscular diseases, including acquired muscle diseases.

Disclosures

E. Williams has a patent for a mouse line Gpr65-ires-Cre to induce expression of Cre recombinase in cells that also express the receptor Gpr65 and has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

Gil I. Wolfe, MD, FAAN

Biography

Dr. Wolfe is a Professor and Chairman of the Dept. of Neurology at University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY), where he holds the Irvin and Rosemary Smith Chair. He attended medical school at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and trained as a neurology resident and neuromuscular/electromyography fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He is board certified in neurology, neuromuscular medicine and in clinical neurophysiology. Dr. Wolfe’s clinical activity and academic investigation focus on neuromuscular disorders, particularly on myasthenia gravis and peripheral neuropathies. He has authored or co-authored 150 papers and 25 chapters on neuromuscular disorders. He is a Fellow of the American Neurological Association and American Academy of Neurology. He was named a University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor in 2017 and a SUNY Distinguished Professor in 2022, and in 2018 was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.

Disclosures

G. Wolfe serves on scientific advisory boards for UCB/Ra, ArgenX, BPL, Orphazyme DSMB, and Alexion; served on the editorial board for RRNMF Neuromuscular Journal; receives research support from UCB/Ra Pharma, Immunovant, ArgenX, Roche, and PCORI; serves as a speakers' bureaus for BPL. Dr. Wolfe has received speaker honoraria from Grifols, Alexion, and from the AAN.

Lindsey Wooliscroft, MD, MSc, MCR

Biography

Dr. Wooliscroft received her medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She completed her medicine internship and neurology residency at Washington University in St. Louis before she was recruited to the VA Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for an MS and Neuroimmunology fellowship. She is currently an Assistant Professor at OHSU. Her research interests include exercise and remyelination therapies in MS and she has been funded by the NIH, Medical Research Foundation, and Myelin Repair Foundation.

Disclosures

L. Wooliscroft serves on the editorial board for Neurology and Neuroscience Reports; has served on the scientific advisory board for EMD Serono; and has received research support from EMD Serono, NIH, Oregon Health & Science University Foundation, VA Portland Health Care System, Oregon Medical Research Foundation, and Myelin Repair Foundation. Dr. Wooliscroft has received travel funding or honoraria from Tarsus CNS and the AAN.

Sarah Wright, DO, MS

Biography

Dr. Wright completed her medical training at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and her residency training in child neurology at the Children's Hospital of Montefiore in Bronx, NY. She then completed additional subspecialty fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology (neuromuscular focus) at Boston Children's Hospital and Lahey Health & Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. Wright's research interests include congenital myopathy, pediatric myasthenia gravis and congenital myasthenic syndromes.

Disclosures

S. Wright has received speaker honoraria from the AAN.

 

Ann Yeh, MD, MA, FRCPC

Biography

Dr. Yasar received her medical degree from the Semmelweis Medical University, School of Medical Sciences, and later her Ph.D. in pharmacology at the Semmelweis Medical University, School of Pharmacological Sciences (Budapest, Hungary). She trained in internal medicine and recieved her geriatric medicine fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. Dr. Yasar is one of the founding members of the multidisciplinary Johns Hopkins Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Center (MATC) and her clinical work in the memory clinic is complemented by research focusing on vascular risk factors and vascular risk-modifying medications for dementia.

Disclosures

A.Yeh has served on the editorial board for the MSARD, Neurology, and MSJ; served on the scientific advisory board for Hoffman Laroche; has received research support from Biogen, CIHR, NIH, NMSS, CBMH, Guthy Jackson, Encephalitis Society, Stem Cell Network, MS Canada, Leong Center of University of Toronto, Alexion, Sanofi, Hoffman LaRoche, and Horizon. Dr. Yeh received travel funding or speaker honoraria from CMSC, Biogen, ACTRIMS, ECTRIMS, NMSS, and the AAN.