CCNA Partners' Forum international experts – biographies

Dr. Philippe Amouyel

Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University Hospital of Lille, France

Philippe Amouyel is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University Hospital of Lille in the North of France. He is in charge of a large academic research unit working on public health and molecular epidemiology of ageing diseases, attempting to decode the individual susceptibility to ageing diseases. A part of his research activity is devoted to cardiovascular diseases, understanding the multiple determinants of coronary artery disease and stroke. The other part is focused on the study of determinants, mainly genetic, of neurodegenerative diseases associated with cognitive decline and of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in particular. He develops large epidemiological studies in population to attempt to decode the individual susceptibility to ageing diseases, using molecular techniques (high throughput genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and bioinformatics…). In September 2009 he published two new susceptibility genes for Alzheimer's disease from a large European genome wide association study, that offered new perspective for the understanding of this major threat. He is one of the principal investigators of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's disease Project (IGAP) that aims at identifying in a global collaboration the genetic susceptibility of AD. Between 2002 and 2011, he headed the Institut Pasteur de Lille. Since 2008 he is the CEO of the French National Research Foundation on Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and chairs the Joint Programming Research Initiative on neurodegenerative disease and Alzheimer's disease in particular (JPND). JPND is the pilot of the joint programming approach to research collaboration in Europe, bringing countries together to address challenges that are beyond the scope of any single nation, such as finding cures for neurodegenerative diseases. JPND associates 27 countries 26 Member States and Associated-Countries and Canada.

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Dr. Tarun Dua

Medical Officer, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization

Dr. Dua is working as a Medical Officer in the World's Health Organization Headquarters in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. She is the focal point for neurological disorders in the department and has contributed to many of the department's work in the area of neurological disorders. Dr. Dua led the development of the WHO report on dementia in 2012 "Dementia: public health priority". She has been the project manager for many of department's key projects such as "mhGAP Intervention Guide for management of mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialised settings", WHO's world report on neurological disorders (Neurological disorders: Public health challenges), as well as WHO's Atlases in the area of Neurological Disorders. Dr. Dua was the focal point for development of mhGAP guidelines on mental, neurological and substance use disorders and neonatal seizure guidelines using GRADE methodology. She is an Editor of the volume of mental, neurological and substance use disorders of the latest edition of Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries currently being prepared for publication in 2015. She is also involved in managing epilepsy demonstration projects in low and middle income countries – currently in Ghana, Mozambique, Myanmar and Viet Nam. Dr. Dua is the focal point for the revision of the ICD-10 chapter Diseases of the Nervous System, development of estimates of disease burden for neurological disorders, and development of normative tools for implementation of WHO's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).

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Dr. Pierluigi Nicotera

Scientific Director of DZNE – German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dr. Pierluigi Nicotera is Scientific Director and Chairman of the Executive Board at the German Center for Neurodenererative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany. Since 2010 he is also a full professor for Neurodegeneration at the University of Bonn in Germany. Dr. Nicoreta has received multiple honors and awards among which in 2013, the Chancellor's Award Lecture in Neuroscience at LSU Neuroscience Center of Excellence in New Orleans, USA. His research interests include molecular mechanisms of cell death, calcium signalling and mechanisms of synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

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Sir John Williams

Head of Clinical Activities, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Wellcome Trust

Dr. John Williams trained initially as a neuroscientist at the National Institute for Medical Research, London. Postdoctoral training followed at Stanford and Duke. In 1998 he changed direction and embarked on a career in science administration when he joined the Wellcome Trust. He has held a number of roles within the organisation. He is currently Head of Clinical Activities and Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

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Dr. Robin Buckle (Moderator)

Director of Science Programs, Medical Research Council, London, UK

Dr. Rob Buckle is Director of Science Programmes at the MRC, with responsibility for the four MRC Research Boards that allocate and oversee the majority of MRC's research funding. The four Boards distribute an annual budget of £170M in support of University and NHS-based research.

Rob is also Head of Theme for neurodegeneration research at MRC, and a member of the cross-agency Dementia Research Champion Group that helps guide the UK national strategy under the Prime Minister's Dementia Challenge. At the international level, Rob is a member of the Management Board of the EU Joint Programming Initiative in Neurodegeneration (JPND), and had lead responsibility for delivery of the JPND Strategic Plan published in 2012, as well as the Oversight Group for the Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (COEN) initiative. In addition, Rob is also Director of the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform, a £25M cross-agency programme launched in 2012.