KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Embracing Complexity

Professor John Gallacher

University of Oxford; Director, Dementias Platform UK

John is Professor of Cognitive Health at Oxford University Department of Psychiatry, and Director of Dementias Platform UK. He is also Director of the BrainWaves Cohort Study, Executive Chair of the MND Translational Accelerator, Adjunct Professor at Yonsei University, and an Honorary Professor at Hong Kong University.

Since 2014, he has worked as Director of DPUK; bringing together expertise from universities, charities, and pharmaceutical and technology companies into a high-trust, pre-competitive, collaborative environment. The mission of DPUK is to reduce barriers to translating discoveries into treatments by enabling rapid data access through its Data Portal, precision trials through the Trials Delivery Framework, and an industry-led experimental medicine portfolio through the EM Incubator. Since inception, DPUK has leveraged >£100m for dementia translation.

He has over 40 years’ experience in psychology and epidemiology, focussing on cohort studies. His, research interests include neurodegeneration, ageing, cognition, and lifestyle. He was PI for the Caerphilly Prospective study (CaPS) and served for over 15 years on the Steering Committee for UK Biobank.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Biomarkers in Experimental Medicine

Professor Henrik Zetterberg

Henrik is Professor of Neurochemistry, Senior Consultant in Clinical Chemistry at the University of Gothenberg in Sweden. He is a Group Lead at the UK Dementia Research Institute and leads the UK Biomarker Factory. His research includes the development of methods for early diagnostics for frontotemporal dementia through the use of Biomarkers.] In 2020, a team of scientists led by Zetterberg published results regarding a new diagnostic for Alzheimer's disease based on protein concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid, which is a colorless fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The test was reported to have an accuracy of around 90% and could detect the disease about two decades before significant symptoms were present.

Professor Donna Wilcock

Indiana University School of Medicine

Donna Wilcock, PhD is a professor of neurology and Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is also the Barbara and Larry Sharpf Professor in Alzheimer's Disease Research, a member of Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, and a member of the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (IADRC).

Dr. Wilcock's research focuses on the intersection of Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. Using mouse models and patient samples, Dr. Wilcock is exploring the role of neuroinflammation and dysregulated angiogenesis in VCID. In addition, she has several active projects exploring the underlying mechanisms of beta-amyloid immunotherapy-related ARIA. Her research is funded by the NINDS and NIA.

Professor Pawel Markiewicz

University College London

Pawel Markiewicz, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Vision and Medical Imaging within the Division of Computer Science and Informatics at the School of Engineering, LSBU, and holds an honorary position with the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, as well as The Hawkes Institute at UCL.

With a background in nuclear physics and computational modelling, Pawel has led the development of NiftyPET (https://niftypet.readthedocs.io/), a standalone open-source software for high-throughput image reconstruction and analysis. NiftyPET has been used extensively in brain imaging for dementia research and clinical trials involving amyloid tracers, offering advanced tools for pattern recognition, uncertainty estimation, image registration, and segmentation.

In addition, he developed AmyPET (https://github.com/AMYPAD/AmyPET), an open-source package designed for amyloid imaging aimed at Alzheimer's disease prevention. AmyPET has been utilized in the Dementia’s Platform UK (DPUK) harmonization study, involving eight PET/MR scanners across the UK, and in the analysis of PET datasets across the AMYPAD (https://amypad.eu/) consortium sites in Europe.

Dr Francesca Cormack

Cambridge Cognition

 DATA: FROM 'OMICS TO LINKAGE

KEYNOTE SPEAKER 

Professor Art Toga

University of Southern California

Art is Provost Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, and Director of the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Institute of Neuroimaging and Informatics.

One of the world’s leading authorities on neuroimaging, informatics, AI applications in neuroscience, mapping brain structure and function, and brain atlasing. Dr. Toga’s research focus is in neurodegenerative disease and specifically works on Alzheimer’s disease.  His interdisciplinary work led to the creation of the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI), which he also directs and is one of the most advanced multidisciplinary neurological research centers in the world serving numerous multisite neuroscience projects globally. Funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants as well as industry partners, LONI houses one of the largest computing facilities and largest brain image repository in the world.

He is an author or co-author of more than 950 peer-reviewed papers, 1200 abstracts and 80 book chapters or books, among them, the Brain Mapping Trilogy.  He is the founding editor of the journal NeuroImage.  Dr. Toga has received numerous awards for his ran Award for Scientific Innovation and Giovanni DiChiro Award for Outstanding Scientific Research and teaching, including the Pioneer in Medicine Award, Smithsoni.  He holds the Ghada Irani chair in Neuroscience and has been on the Thomson Reuters' Highly Cited Researchers for many years.

Professor Michele Hu

University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences

Michele Hu is a clinician neuroscientist working in the field of longitudinal cohort studies and biomarkers for manifest and prodromal Parkinson’s disease, with particular focus on REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD).  Her interests include the delivery of tractable, low cost, wearable technology that has a real impact on patient’s daily lives, alongside imaging the human brain from prodromal to established Parkinson’s. She has led the Oxford Discovery cohort (OPDC: https://opdc.medsci.ox.ac.uk/home) since 2010, exemplifying multi-disciplinary translational neuroscience in Oxford at its best. Its goal is to improve understanding of the biology of early Parkinson’s and identify predictors of Parkinson’s onset and progression using patient cohorts, stem cell models and transgenic rodent lines. Longitudinal motor, non-motor, cognitive and psychiatric phenotyping is performed in 1700 individuals and combined with digital, transcriptomic and imaging data to stratify and predict Parkinson’s, improving future trial delivery. Innovative statistical approaches have allowed the team to understand baseline individual differences in Parkinson’s and how this affects progression, while testing combinations of prognostic biomarkers for individual stratification and trial design. She is strongly committed to improving public engagement with research and promoting outreach activities, helping to shape and focus future research.

Dr Carole Dufouil

University of Bordeaux

Carole Dufouil is an epidemiologist, Research Director at Inserm (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and leads the PHARes team (Population Health trAnslational Research) at the Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, based in Bordeaux, France. Her research focuses on understanding the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with particular attention to factors such as vascular risks, cognitive stimulation throughout life, and fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers associated with AD and accelerated brain aging.

 Dr. Dufouil has played a key role in major French cohort studies, including the 3C-Dijon study and the Memento study, which aim to unravel the complexities of brain health and disease progression. In addition to her scientific research, she founded the MELODEM project, an international initiative that seeks to standardize methodological approaches for longitudinal studies on dementia. Currently, Dr. Dufouil also serves as Program Officer at the French Ministry of Research, where she oversees health data policy programs.

Dr Tim Rittman

University of Cambridge

Timothy Rittman is an Alzheimer’s Research UK Senior Fellow, Senior Clinical Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrookes hospital. His research centres around neurodegenerative tauopathies, combining neuroimaging, cognitive assessments and neuropathology to understand how these diseases affect the whole brain. He also has an interest in translating methods from artificial intelligence and big data for use in memory clinics, and leads the  Quantitative MRI in NHS Memory Clinics (QMIN-MC) study collecting real world data for validation of AI models.

Tim co-leads the DEMON dementia network’s Imaging Working group and is an adviser to the World Young Leaders in Dementia. He is a consultant in the Addenbrookes Memory Clinic, and leads a clinic for people with Progressive Supranclear Palsy and Corticobasal Degeneration, in addition to co-leading a dementia genetics clinic.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Trials Delivery. Trials for all.

Professor Cath Mummery

Cath is a Professor of Neurology and consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. She is chair of the NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration, and Director of the NIHR UK Dementia Trials Network, building a national unified trials network for early phase clinical trials and working with the Mission to accelerate and enhance dementia translational research in novel treatments.

She is Head of Clinical Trials at the Dementia Research Centre at University College London. She has been chief investigator on over 20 early phase drug trials of potential disease modifying agents in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and genetic forms of AD and frontotemporal dementia. As clinical lead for the UCL Neurogenetic Therapies Programme, she leads a programme of innovative collaboration between industry and academia to accelerate progress in genetic therapies in dementia.

Her driving ambition is to ensure we not only have treatments that can alter the course of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, but that we can deliver them promptly, safely and equitably.

Professor Paresh Malhotra

Imperial College London

Paresh Malhotra is National Specialty lead for Dementia and Neurodegeneration in the NIHR Research Delivery Network, Head of the Division of Neurology at Imperial College London, and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

He carries out Cognitive Neurology clinics at Charing Cross Hospital and his research mainly focusses on Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia. He led the recently completed NIHR-funded NorAD repurposing trial and is co-leading a planned multi-arm platform trial in symptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD-SMART).

He sits on the NIHR Dementia Translational Research Collaboration, is Vice Chair of the Alzheimer’s Society Research Strategy Council and an Associate Member of the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Professor Charles Marshall

Queen Mary University of London

Charles Marshall is an academic neurologist at the Centre for Preventive Neurology at QMUL. He leads a programme of dementia research with focusses on prevention, health inequalities and early diagnosis of dementia. He works clinically in both a tertiary neurology cognitive disorders clinic and a community memory clinic. He is the Clinical Director for Dementia for London.

Dr Ruth Croney

Clinical Operations Portfolio Lead, Roche Products Ltd

Ruth Croney has over 25 years of clinical research experience. She has held various roles in clinical operations trial management and project leadership positions during her career. Her therapeutic area experience spans Neuroscience (Neurodegeneration and Psychiatry), Oncology and Immunology for global Phase I to III trials. Ruth is currently the Clinical Operational Portfolio Leader for Roche across the AD franchise . She has worked at Roche since 2005 and during her tenure, she has been awarded an Inventor medal in Feb 24 ; Leadership medal in Dec 2023 and previously awarded the Roche Pharma development breakthrough award in recognition for “Fostering Learning and Creativity “ for her partnering with patients.

She has an MSc in Parasitology from the London School of Tropical Medicine and she originally started her career working in Kenya as a research scientist in a field based disease prevention programme against Schistosomiasis. Ruth is based in Hertfordshire.