Isabelle Arnulf is a professor of neurology at Sorbonne University, Paris, France and head of the Sleep Disorders Clinic of Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris. Her research program (conducted in the group DreamTeam of Paris Brain institute)  is focused on neurological sleep disorders, mainly abnormal behaviors during sleep (sleepwalking, REM sleep behavior disorders), sleep in Parkinson's disease and central hypersomnias (narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin syndrome) and what these disorders tell us about the functions of sleep and dreams.

Isabelle Arnulf is a professor of neurology at Sorbonne University, Paris, France and head of the Sleep Disorders Clinic of Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris. Her research program (conducted in the group DreamTeam of Paris Brain institute)  is focused on neurological sleep disorders, mainly abnormal behaviors during sleep (sleepwalking, REM sleep behavior disorders), sleep in Parkinson's disease and central hypersomnias (narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin syndrome) and what these disorders tell us about the functions of sleep and dreams.

Dr. Marek Bartosovic did his PhD at the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic in the lab of Stepanka Vanacova where he investigated newly-emerging roles of mRNA modifications such as m6A and processing of non-coding RNAs. In 2017 he joined the group of Goncalo Castelo-Branco at Karolinska Institute, where he studied the roles of epigenetics in the regulation of gene expression in the central nervous system. During his postdoc he developed single-cell CUT&Tag technology on the 10x Genomics single-cell indexing platform and used it to profile histone modifications in the mouse brain at the single-cell level for the first time. Then, he developed new nanobody-Tn5 fusion proteins for multimodal and simultaneous profiling of three epigenetic modalities at the same time in single-cells. Recently, he participated in development of spatial epigenome profiling technologies based on the DBiT-seq platform. In September 2022, he started his independent lab at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Stockholm University studying epigenetic regulation of human brain development and roles of epigenetic writers, erasers, readers and remodellers in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Marek Bartosovic did his PhD at the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic in the lab of Stepanka Vanacova where he investigated newly-emerging roles of mRNA modifications such as m6A and processing of non-coding RNAs. In 2017 he joined the group of Goncalo Castelo-Branco at Karolinska Institute, where he studied the roles of epigenetics in the regulation of gene expression in the central nervous system. During his postdoc he developed single-cell CUT&Tag technology on the 10x Genomics single-cell indexing platform and used it to profile histone modifications in the mouse brain at the single-cell level for the first time. Then, he developed new nanobody-Tn5 fusion proteins for multimodal and simultaneous profiling of three epigenetic modalities at the same time in single-cells. Recently, he participated in development of spatial epigenome profiling technologies based on the DBiT-seq platform. In September 2022, he started his independent lab at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Stockholm University studying epigenetic regulation of human brain development and roles of epigenetic writers, erasers, readers and remodellers in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Tom Beckers is Professor of Psychology at KU Leuven in Belgium. After obtaining his PhD at KU Leuven, he worked as a postdoc at KU Leuven, Binghamton University and the University of California, Los Angeles and as assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam before returning to KU Leuven. Here, he directs a lab that studies elementary processes of learning and memory and their role in psychopathology – in particular anxiety, ADHD and substance use. Research in the lab is translational in nature, encompassing research in animals, healthy volunteers and patients. It strives to clarify basic mechanisms of learning and memory but also inform clinical science and interventions. It is also committed to principles of open, reproducible and transparent science. Open science efforts from the lab have earned awards from the Center for Open Science, the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In recent years, Tom Beckers’ prime research interests have centered on fear conditioning, extinction, generalization and avoidance, on reward learning, and on mechanisms of emotional memory interference. Most recently he has also developed a keen interest in the role of conditioning processes in the development of drug tolerance.

Tom Beckers is Professor of Psychology at KU Leuven in Belgium. After obtaining his PhD at KU Leuven, he worked as a postdoc at KU Leuven, Binghamton University and the University of California, Los Angeles and as assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam before returning to KU Leuven. Here, he directs a lab that studies elementary processes of learning and memory and their role in psychopathology – in particular anxiety, ADHD and substance use. Research in the lab is translational in nature, encompassing research in animals, healthy volunteers and patients. It strives to clarify basic mechanisms of learning and memory but also inform clinical science and interventions. It is also committed to principles of open, reproducible and transparent science. Open science efforts from the lab have earned awards from the Center for Open Science, the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In recent years, Tom Beckers’ prime research interests have centered on fear conditioning, extinction, generalization and avoidance, on reward learning, and on mechanisms of emotional memory interference. Most recently he has also developed a keen interest in the role of conditioning processes in the development of drug tolerance.

I am a molecular biologist by training and have 12+ years of experience focusing on the pathogenic mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease. My training is multidisciplinary from biophysics (Chen et al, 2011), molecular and cellular biology (Chen et al, 2012; Chen et al., 2014), electrophysiology and animal behavior (Liu et al., 2017), and single cell and spatial transcriptomics (Sala Frigerio et al., 2019, Chen et al., 2020). As a postdoctoral fellow in the De Strooper lab, we identified a multicellular gene regulatory network induced by amyloid plaques, named Plaque-Induced Genes (PIGs). Together with in situ sequencing, this project provides single cell resolution of PIGs in the amyloid plaque cell niches. Since 2019 I initiate and lead a large spatial transcriptomic project based on postmortem human brains that provides the foundation for a start-up company called K5, which is now a part of Muna Therapeutics. I became a staff scientist of VIB in 2020, and the head of discovery biology of Muna Therapeutics in 2021. My interest is to incorporate advanced technologies for target screening and validation to identify novel drug targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

I am a molecular biologist by training and have 12+ years of experience focusing on the pathogenic mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease. My training is multidisciplinary from biophysics (Chen et al, 2011), molecular and cellular biology (Chen et al, 2012; Chen et al., 2014), electrophysiology and animal behavior (Liu et al., 2017), and single cell and spatial transcriptomics (Sala Frigerio et al., 2019, Chen et al., 2020). As a postdoctoral fellow in the De Strooper lab, we identified a multicellular gene regulatory network induced by amyloid plaques, named Plaque-Induced Genes (PIGs). Together with in situ sequencing, this project provides single cell resolution of PIGs in the amyloid plaque cell niches. Since 2019 I initiate and lead a large spatial transcriptomic project based on postmortem human brains that provides the foundation for a start-up company called K5, which is now a part of Muna Therapeutics. I became a staff scientist of VIB in 2020, and the head of discovery biology of Muna Therapeutics in 2021. My interest is to incorporate advanced technologies for target screening and validation to identify novel drug targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

Hanieh Falahati did her undergrad in Biotechnology in Iran at University of Tehran. She received her PhD in Quantitative and Computational Biology from Princeton University where she worked with Dr. Eric Wieschaus. Her PhD work was applying biophysical concepts to study membrane-less organelle formation, and cell cycle regulation, in early fly embryos.
As a postdoc, she moved to the lab of Dr. Pietro De Camilli at the Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Yale School of Medicine. Her current work is on an enigmatic neuron-specific organelle, called the spine apparatus. While discovered over 60 years ago, the mechanisms of formation and function of the spine apparatus remains a longstanding question of neuronal cell biology. Hanieh has used interdisciplinary approaches to molecularly and morphologically characterize this peculiar organelle and is building on this knowledge to understand the mechanisms of its formation, and its functions in neuronal physiology.
Hanieh was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow of Life Sciences Research Foundation (2018-2021). Her other accomplishments include being selected as an Emerging Scholar in Integrative Biology (2022, Boston University), fellowship from Society of General Physiology (SGP)-Marine Biology Lab (MBL, 2018), and a Gold Medal in National Biology Olympiad in Iran (2003).

Hanieh Falahati did her undergrad in Biotechnology in Iran at University of Tehran. She received her PhD in Quantitative and Computational Biology from Princeton University where she worked with Dr. Eric Wieschaus. Her PhD work was applying biophysical concepts to study membrane-less organelle formation, and cell cycle regulation, in early fly embryos.
As a postdoc, she moved to the lab of Dr. Pietro De Camilli at the Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Yale School of Medicine. Her current work is on an enigmatic neuron-specific organelle, called the spine apparatus. While discovered over 60 years ago, the mechanisms of formation and function of the spine apparatus remains a longstanding question of neuronal cell biology. Hanieh has used interdisciplinary approaches to molecularly and morphologically characterize this peculiar organelle and is building on this knowledge to understand the mechanisms of its formation, and its functions in neuronal physiology.
Hanieh was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow of Life Sciences Research Foundation (2018-2021). Her other accomplishments include being selected as an Emerging Scholar in Integrative Biology (2022, Boston University), fellowship from Society of General Physiology (SGP)-Marine Biology Lab (MBL, 2018), and a Gold Medal in National Biology Olympiad in Iran (2003).

Michael K. Georgieff, MD is the Martin Lenz Harrison Land Grant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, where he is executive vice-chair of Pediatrics, and Co-Director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. He is a practicing neonatologist at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. He is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of nutrition on the developing brain, especially the effects of iron deficiency, which is the most common nutrient deficiency on the planet. His career in this area has spanned over 35 years and he has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers. He advises the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health and USAID on policy related to nutrition and child development.

Michael K. Georgieff, MD is the Martin Lenz Harrison Land Grant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, where he is executive vice-chair of Pediatrics, and Co-Director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. He is a practicing neonatologist at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. He is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of nutrition on the developing brain, especially the effects of iron deficiency, which is the most common nutrient deficiency on the planet. His career in this area has spanned over 35 years and he has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers. He advises the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health and USAID on policy related to nutrition and child development.

Julijana Gjorgjieva studied mathematics at Harvey Mudd College in California, USA and became interested in neuroscience at the University of Cambridge during a course in Computational Neuroscience while doing Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. After obtaining a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Cambridge in 2011 with Stephen Eglen, she spent five years in the USA as a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University with Haim Sompolinsky and Markus Meister and Brandeis University with Eve Marder, supported by grants from the Swartz Foundation and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. In 2016, she set up an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany and in 2022 became a Professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She has received an ERC Starting Grant in 2018 for her research on theoretical models of neural circuit organization and computation during postnatal development and is further supported by a Human Frontiers Science Program to study plasticity and evolution of sensory systems under different environmental constraints. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Bernstein Network for Computational Neuroscience and has co-chaired the Bernstein Conference in Computational Neuroscience in 2020 and 2021.

Julijana Gjorgjieva studied mathematics at Harvey Mudd College in California, USA and became interested in neuroscience at the University of Cambridge during a course in Computational Neuroscience while doing Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. After obtaining a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Cambridge in 2011 with Stephen Eglen, she spent five years in the USA as a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University with Haim Sompolinsky and Markus Meister and Brandeis University with Eve Marder, supported by grants from the Swartz Foundation and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. In 2016, she set up an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany and in 2022 became a Professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She has received an ERC Starting Grant in 2018 for her research on theoretical models of neural circuit organization and computation during postnatal development and is further supported by a Human Frontiers Science Program to study plasticity and evolution of sensory systems under different environmental constraints. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Bernstein Network for Computational Neuroscience and has co-chaired the Bernstein Conference in Computational Neuroscience in 2020 and 2021.

Philippe HANTRAYE, a CNRS Research Director (>240 peer-reviewed scientific publications), is the current director of MIRCen (Molecular Imaging Research Center), a research laboratory of the French atomic commission (CEA), dedicated to the design, testing and validation of drug, cell and gene-based therapies for neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s diseases. He is also the director of the French large Infrastructure for Translationnal Neurosciences called NeurATRIS gathering the Institut d’imagerie Biomédicale (CEA/I2BM), the Institut de Neurosciences Translationnelle de Paris (IHU-AICM), the Henri Mondor et Bicêtre hospitals, and the Institut des Biothérapies pour les maladies rares (BIRD) which includes the Genethon, the I-Stem institute and the French Association against myopathies (AFM). MIRCen and NeurATRIS are heavily involved in preclinical and clinical studies aiming at better understanding and potentially curing neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease. Of notice, the long-standing preclinical and clinical phase 1-2 developments of a dopamine replenishment gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PROSAVIN project) in collaboration with Oxford Biomedica Ltd. From December 2000 to December 2009, PhH was in charge of two research units located at Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ, Orsay) : - the CNRS URA CEA CNRS 2210 unit focusing on Parkinson’s and Huntington‘s diseases and - the Isotopic Imaging, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Unit, a research laboratory of the CEA specialized in the R&D of various medical imaging modalities (PET, MR Imaging, MR Spectroscopy, Glutamate CEST imaging).

Philippe HANTRAYE, a CNRS Research Director (>240 peer-reviewed scientific publications), is the current director of MIRCen (Molecular Imaging Research Center), a research laboratory of the French atomic commission (CEA), dedicated to the design, testing and validation of drug, cell and gene-based therapies for neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s diseases. He is also the director of the French large Infrastructure for Translationnal Neurosciences called NeurATRIS gathering the Institut d’imagerie Biomédicale (CEA/I2BM), the Institut de Neurosciences Translationnelle de Paris (IHU-AICM), the Henri Mondor et Bicêtre hospitals, and the Institut des Biothérapies pour les maladies rares (BIRD) which includes the Genethon, the I-Stem institute and the French Association against myopathies (AFM). MIRCen and NeurATRIS are heavily involved in preclinical and clinical studies aiming at better understanding and potentially curing neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease. Of notice, the long-standing preclinical and clinical phase 1-2 developments of a dopamine replenishment gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PROSAVIN project) in collaboration with Oxford Biomedica Ltd. From December 2000 to December 2009, PhH was in charge of two research units located at Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot (SHFJ, Orsay) : - the CNRS URA CEA CNRS 2210 unit focusing on Parkinson’s and Huntington‘s diseases and - the Isotopic Imaging, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Unit, a research laboratory of the CEA specialized in the R&D of various medical imaging modalities (PET, MR Imaging, MR Spectroscopy, Glutamate CEST imaging).

Oliver Harschnitz is a group leader at Human Technopole. His research group focuses on the development and application of a wide range of cutting-edge human pluripotent stem cell models to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie viral and autoimmune encephalitis and to identify the drivers of chronic inflammation in the brain. As a clinician-scientist, his research is aimed at finding therapeutic targets that may be directly translated to patients who suffer from neuroimmunological disease.
Oliver obtained his medical degree at the University of Maastricht (The Netherlands) in 2009 and completed his PhD in the groups of Leonard van den Berg and Jeroen Pasterkamp at Utrecht University Medical Center (The Netherlands) in 2017, while gaining clinical experience as a neurology resident. During his PhD, Oliver developed human pluripotent stem cell models to study inflammatory neuropathies. From 2017 to 2021, he continued his postdoctoral research in the lab of Lorenz Studer at Sloan Kettering Institute (USA) studying host-virus interactions in the central nervous system using human pluripotent stem cell models and forward genetic screens. For this work, Oliver has been awarded the Brain Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Young Investigator Award and the Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award. His work on the development of human stem cell models to study neuroimmunologial disease has been published in journals such as Cell Stem Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Reviews Immunology, and Nature Neuroscience.

Oliver Harschnitz is a group leader at Human Technopole. His research group focuses on the development and application of a wide range of cutting-edge human pluripotent stem cell models to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie viral and autoimmune encephalitis and to identify the drivers of chronic inflammation in the brain. As a clinician-scientist, his research is aimed at finding therapeutic targets that may be directly translated to patients who suffer from neuroimmunological disease.
Oliver obtained his medical degree at the University of Maastricht (The Netherlands) in 2009 and completed his PhD in the groups of Leonard van den Berg and Jeroen Pasterkamp at Utrecht University Medical Center (The Netherlands) in 2017, while gaining clinical experience as a neurology resident. During his PhD, Oliver developed human pluripotent stem cell models to study inflammatory neuropathies. From 2017 to 2021, he continued his postdoctoral research in the lab of Lorenz Studer at Sloan Kettering Institute (USA) studying host-virus interactions in the central nervous system using human pluripotent stem cell models and forward genetic screens. For this work, Oliver has been awarded the Brain Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Young Investigator Award and the Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award. His work on the development of human stem cell models to study neuroimmunologial disease has been published in journals such as Cell Stem Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Reviews Immunology, and Nature Neuroscience.

Rob Henning, MD PhD, is a Professor of Pharmacology at UMCG, where he leads research on innovative strategies to counteract cellular damage in neuronal, cardiovascular, and renal disease. Specifically, his focus is on the study of hibernation in mammals and the identification of molecular and mitochondrial mechanisms that protect hibernators from organ damage. Through his work, his research group has identified several cell-autonomous mechanisms that effectively protect cells and organs against hypoxic damage and oxidative stress. This research has also contributed to the development of 6-chromanols, a new class of drugs that counteract the derailment of mitochondrial function and have shown promising beneficial effects in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to his groundbreaking work in pharmacology, Rob is also a member of the Topical Team on Hibernation, a working party from the European Space Agency tasked with setting the agenda for the induction of hibernation in humans as a prerequisite for enabling long-haul space missions.

Rob Henning, MD PhD, is a Professor of Pharmacology at UMCG, where he leads research on innovative strategies to counteract cellular damage in neuronal, cardiovascular, and renal disease. Specifically, his focus is on the study of hibernation in mammals and the identification of molecular and mitochondrial mechanisms that protect hibernators from organ damage. Through his work, his research group has identified several cell-autonomous mechanisms that effectively protect cells and organs against hypoxic damage and oxidative stress. This research has also contributed to the development of 6-chromanols, a new class of drugs that counteract the derailment of mitochondrial function and have shown promising beneficial effects in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to his groundbreaking work in pharmacology, Rob is also a member of the Topical Team on Hibernation, a working party from the European Space Agency tasked with setting the agenda for the induction of hibernation in humans as a prerequisite for enabling long-haul space missions.

Alexander Jackson, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut (UConn) in Storrs, CT. Following a BSc in Physiology (McGill), he pursued a PhD in Neuroscience with Bruce Bean (Harvard), studying subthreshold ionic currents underlying spontaneous firing in hypothalamic pacemaker neurons. He subsequently pursued a postdoctoral fellowship with Roger Nicoll (UCSF) studying glutamate receptor trafficking and synaptic transmission. With support of a K99 Pathway to Independence Award (NIMH), he received further training with Luis de Lecea (Stanford), studying neurotransmission in hypothalamic neural circuits. In his lab at UConn, his research team is focused on the form and function of neuromodulatory circuits in the lateroposterior hypothalamus (LPH), critical in the regulation of fundamental behavioral states such as sleep, wakefulness, energy balance, motivated behavior and stress. Recent work in the lab has been using a combination of single cell transcriptomic analysis, neuroanatomical circuit mapping and slice electrophysiology to delineate distinct neuronal populations within the LPH, and investigate their patterns of synaptic connectivity, mechanisms of neurochemical signaling and roles in innate behavior.

Alexander Jackson, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut (UConn) in Storrs, CT. Following a BSc in Physiology (McGill), he pursued a PhD in Neuroscience with Bruce Bean (Harvard), studying subthreshold ionic currents underlying spontaneous firing in hypothalamic pacemaker neurons. He subsequently pursued a postdoctoral fellowship with Roger Nicoll (UCSF) studying glutamate receptor trafficking and synaptic transmission. With support of a K99 Pathway to Independence Award (NIMH), he received further training with Luis de Lecea (Stanford), studying neurotransmission in hypothalamic neural circuits. In his lab at UConn, his research team is focused on the form and function of neuromodulatory circuits in the lateroposterior hypothalamus (LPH), critical in the regulation of fundamental behavioral states such as sleep, wakefulness, energy balance, motivated behavior and stress. Recent work in the lab has been using a combination of single cell transcriptomic analysis, neuroanatomical circuit mapping and slice electrophysiology to delineate distinct neuronal populations within the LPH, and investigate their patterns of synaptic connectivity, mechanisms of neurochemical signaling and roles in innate behavior.

Dr. Xiaoxuan Jia is an Associate Professor at the School of Life Science and a Principal Investigator at the IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, China.
Dr. Jia earned her PhD in the lab of Dr. Adam Kohn at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she investigated the relationship between neural activity and brain oscillations and the influence of their interplay on signal transmission. For her postdoc, she joined the lab of Dr. James DiCarlo at MIT and investigated how uninstructed visual experience shapes the tolerant representation of objects in adult primates. She also built a data-constrained model to explain the unsupervised changes in human object recognition with single-neuron plasticity in the inferotemporal cortex.
In 2016, Dr. Jia joined the Allen Institute where she utilized high-throughput Neuropixels probes to record thousands of neurons from the mouse visual system simultaneously. This revealed the hierarchical network structure of the mouse visual cortex and the multi-area network topology of feedforward and feedback pathways.
Her ongoing research focuses on visual information representation and transmission, neural dynamics, dynamic neural networks, and the application of neural encoding and decoding in brain-machine interfaces.

Dr. Xiaoxuan Jia is an Associate Professor at the School of Life Science and a Principal Investigator at the IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, China.
Dr. Jia earned her PhD in the lab of Dr. Adam Kohn at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she investigated the relationship between neural activity and brain oscillations and the influence of their interplay on signal transmission. For her postdoc, she joined the lab of Dr. James DiCarlo at MIT and investigated how uninstructed visual experience shapes the tolerant representation of objects in adult primates. She also built a data-constrained model to explain the unsupervised changes in human object recognition with single-neuron plasticity in the inferotemporal cortex.
In 2016, Dr. Jia joined the Allen Institute where she utilized high-throughput Neuropixels probes to record thousands of neurons from the mouse visual system simultaneously. This revealed the hierarchical network structure of the mouse visual cortex and the multi-area network topology of feedforward and feedback pathways.
Her ongoing research focuses on visual information representation and transmission, neural dynamics, dynamic neural networks, and the application of neural encoding and decoding in brain-machine interfaces.

Martien Kas is Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. The research of his group focuses on determinants of behavior, especially of behavioral strategies and of biological processes that are essential across species and that are affected in various neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., social interaction and sensory information processing). By means of cross-species genetic analysis of neurobehavioral traits (of mice and men), they aim to identify genotype-phenotype relationships relevant to the development and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's Disease, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. These studies will lead to the understanding of conserved gene function in regulating essential behavioral strategies and will ultimately improve therapeutic and preventive strategies to contribute to healthy aging. In addition, he is Executive Committee Board member and President of the European College of NeuroPsychopharmacology (ECNP), Editorial board member of Mammalian Genome, and project coordinator of the PRISM1 and PRISM2 projects, two large EU Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) projects that aim to unpick the biological reasons underlying social dysfunction, which is a common early transdiagnostic symptom of Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Major Depressive Disorder.

Martien Kas is Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. The research of his group focuses on determinants of behavior, especially of behavioral strategies and of biological processes that are essential across species and that are affected in various neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., social interaction and sensory information processing). By means of cross-species genetic analysis of neurobehavioral traits (of mice and men), they aim to identify genotype-phenotype relationships relevant to the development and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's Disease, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. These studies will lead to the understanding of conserved gene function in regulating essential behavioral strategies and will ultimately improve therapeutic and preventive strategies to contribute to healthy aging. In addition, he is Executive Committee Board member and President of the European College of NeuroPsychopharmacology (ECNP), Editorial board member of Mammalian Genome, and project coordinator of the PRISM1 and PRISM2 projects, two large EU Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) projects that aim to unpick the biological reasons underlying social dysfunction, which is a common early transdiagnostic symptom of Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Major Depressive Disorder.

Ernst Koster is professor of Experimental Psychopathology at Ghent University. He codirects the psychopathology and affective neuroscience lab and has published extensively on cognitive risk factors for depression and anxiety. He is also an active clinical psychologist and psychotherapist.

Ernst Koster is professor of Experimental Psychopathology at Ghent University. He codirects the psychopathology and affective neuroscience lab and has published extensively on cognitive risk factors for depression and anxiety. He is also an active clinical psychologist and psychotherapist.

I am a Professor of Biological Psychology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Our lab is located deep within the Arctic Circle in Tromsø, Norway. We primarily study the neuroscience of feeding with a particular focus on how the drive for nutrients in the food affects behaviour and neural activity. We combine various behavioural measurements in rodents (e.g. lick microstructure analysis) with techniques for measuring neural activity and neurotransmitter release including fibre photometry, two-photon imaging and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. I completed my PhD in 2007 at University College London working with Prof. Steve Hunt on the effects of genetic background on anxiety-like behaviour and responses to opioids. I then moved to the US for two postdoc positions. The first at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago with Dr Micky Marinelli was focused on how midbrain dopamine neurons and their projections are modulated by age, stress and exposure to drugs of abuse. In the second at University of Illinois in Chicago with Prof Mitch Roitman, I looked at how dopamine release in nucleus accumbens was sensitive to caloric content of food and also examined regional differences in dopamine release and responses to learned aversive stimuli. Following this, I moved back to the UK to start my lab at University of Leicester where I started focusing on the role of protein in the diet and the effects of protein restriction.

I am a Professor of Biological Psychology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Our lab is located deep within the Arctic Circle in Tromsø, Norway. We primarily study the neuroscience of feeding with a particular focus on how the drive for nutrients in the food affects behaviour and neural activity. We combine various behavioural measurements in rodents (e.g. lick microstructure analysis) with techniques for measuring neural activity and neurotransmitter release including fibre photometry, two-photon imaging and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. I completed my PhD in 2007 at University College London working with Prof. Steve Hunt on the effects of genetic background on anxiety-like behaviour and responses to opioids. I then moved to the US for two postdoc positions. The first at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago with Dr Micky Marinelli was focused on how midbrain dopamine neurons and their projections are modulated by age, stress and exposure to drugs of abuse. In the second at University of Illinois in Chicago with Prof Mitch Roitman, I looked at how dopamine release in nucleus accumbens was sensitive to caloric content of food and also examined regional differences in dopamine release and responses to learned aversive stimuli. Following this, I moved back to the UK to start my lab at University of Leicester where I started focusing on the role of protein in the diet and the effects of protein restriction.

Gavan McNally is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNSW where he leads the Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory. His research is concerned with the fundamental psychological and brain mechanisms for learning and motivation, and how these apply to clinical conditions such as addictions and anxiety disorders. This research spans human and non-human animals. He is interested in identifying these mechanisms, at the cellular, circuit, and systems level as well as helping translate this knowledge into next generation treatments of psychological conditions.

Gavan McNally is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNSW where he leads the Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory. His research is concerned with the fundamental psychological and brain mechanisms for learning and motivation, and how these apply to clinical conditions such as addictions and anxiety disorders. This research spans human and non-human animals. He is interested in identifying these mechanisms, at the cellular, circuit, and systems level as well as helping translate this knowledge into next generation treatments of psychological conditions.

Dr. Marisela Morales is a Branch Chief of the Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch and Section Chief of Neuronal Networks Section in the Intramural Research Program (IRP) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in USA. She is also the NIDA-IRP Associate Director of Technology. She has been investigating the molecular and cellular composition of neuronal networks and how their different elements play a role in different aspects of neuronal transmission underlying animal behavior. She is known particularly for her studies on neuronal diversity among ventral tegmental area neurons, their neuronal connectivity and role in motivated behavior. She has discovered that the ventral tegmental area has different types of glutamatergic neurons that play a role in reward, aversion or drug seeking behavior. She also discovered unanticipated neuronal phenotypes in the midbrain and forebrain, including neurons in the ventral tegmental area that co-release GABA and glutamate from different pools of vesicles from a share axon terminal in the lateral habenula. She was a co-leader of the NIDA Initiative to Promote Racial Equity and a member of the NIH Equity Committee.

Dr. Marisela Morales is a Branch Chief of the Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch and Section Chief of Neuronal Networks Section in the Intramural Research Program (IRP) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in USA. She is also the NIDA-IRP Associate Director of Technology. She has been investigating the molecular and cellular composition of neuronal networks and how their different elements play a role in different aspects of neuronal transmission underlying animal behavior. She is known particularly for her studies on neuronal diversity among ventral tegmental area neurons, their neuronal connectivity and role in motivated behavior. She has discovered that the ventral tegmental area has different types of glutamatergic neurons that play a role in reward, aversion or drug seeking behavior. She also discovered unanticipated neuronal phenotypes in the midbrain and forebrain, including neurons in the ventral tegmental area that co-release GABA and glutamate from different pools of vesicles from a share axon terminal in the lateral habenula. She was a co-leader of the NIDA Initiative to Promote Racial Equity and a member of the NIH Equity Committee.

Juan Antonio Moreno Bravo obtained his Ph.D. (2015) in the laboratory of Dr. Eduardo de Puelles at the Institute of Neuroscience (IN) of Alicante (Spain). Afterwards, he did his postdoctoral research at the Institut de la Vision in Paris (France) in the group of Dr. Alain Chédotal (2015-2018) and at the IN in the laboratory of Dr. Guillermina López Bendito (2019-2020). In 2021, he became a Principal Investigator in the Developmental Neurobiology Department at the IN funded by a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and an ERC Starting Grant. Throughout his career, he has been interested in the mechanisms driving the assembly of bilateral neural circuits during the development of the nervous system. Currently, his laboratory is focused on understanding the basic regulatory mechanisms underlying the formation of the cerebellar circuits and how alterations in these early processes impact brain function.

Juan Antonio Moreno Bravo obtained his Ph.D. (2015) in the laboratory of Dr. Eduardo de Puelles at the Institute of Neuroscience (IN) of Alicante (Spain). Afterwards, he did his postdoctoral research at the Institut de la Vision in Paris (France) in the group of Dr. Alain Chédotal (2015-2018) and at the IN in the laboratory of Dr. Guillermina López Bendito (2019-2020). In 2021, he became a Principal Investigator in the Developmental Neurobiology Department at the IN funded by a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and an ERC Starting Grant. Throughout his career, he has been interested in the mechanisms driving the assembly of bilateral neural circuits during the development of the nervous system. Currently, his laboratory is focused on understanding the basic regulatory mechanisms underlying the formation of the cerebellar circuits and how alterations in these early processes impact brain function.

Dr. Nedergaard is Dean’s Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in Rochester, NY and Professor of Glial Cell Biology at the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen (KU), Denmark. Her interests span from neuron-glia interactions to the role of astrocytes in aging, small vessel disease, stroke and cerebral blood flow. Her group described the glymphatic system, a brain equivalent of the lymphatic system within which cerebrospinal fluid diffuses rapidly and mixes with interstitial fluids, thereby filtering metabolic byproducts that accumulate due to neuronal activity. The glymphatic system dramatically increases its activity during sleep compared to waking – brain cleaning and detoxification is thus facilitated during sleep, providing a novel and direct explanation for what we all generally consider sleep’s restorative effect. Dr. Nedergaard is an elected member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Spain, and Academia Europaea. In 2015 she received the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, from AAAS and the Alzheimer Prize in Denmark. In 2018, she received The Fernström Nordic Prize in Medicine and in 2020 the Thomas Willis Stroke Award.

Dr. Nedergaard is Dean’s Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in Rochester, NY and Professor of Glial Cell Biology at the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen (KU), Denmark. Her interests span from neuron-glia interactions to the role of astrocytes in aging, small vessel disease, stroke and cerebral blood flow. Her group described the glymphatic system, a brain equivalent of the lymphatic system within which cerebrospinal fluid diffuses rapidly and mixes with interstitial fluids, thereby filtering metabolic byproducts that accumulate due to neuronal activity. The glymphatic system dramatically increases its activity during sleep compared to waking – brain cleaning and detoxification is thus facilitated during sleep, providing a novel and direct explanation for what we all generally consider sleep’s restorative effect. Dr. Nedergaard is an elected member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Spain, and Academia Europaea. In 2015 she received the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, from AAAS and the Alzheimer Prize in Denmark. In 2018, she received The Fernström Nordic Prize in Medicine and in 2020 the Thomas Willis Stroke Award.

Dr. Nitsche is Scientific Director of the Department of Psychology and Neurosciences at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund, Germany. He is furthermore staff member at the Dept. Psychiatry of the Univeristy Hospital OWL, adjunct member of the psychological faculty oft he University of Bochum, and Member oft he International Graduate School for Neurosciences at Bochum University. Previously, he worked as neurologist at the University Medical Hospital Goettingen, Dept. Clinical Neurophysiology. His main research interest is focused on cognitive neuroscience, and non-invasive brain stimulation approaches in humans.

Dr. Nitsche is Scientific Director of the Department of Psychology and Neurosciences at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund, Germany. He is furthermore staff member at the Dept. Psychiatry of the Univeristy Hospital OWL, adjunct member of the psychological faculty oft he University of Bochum, and Member oft he International Graduate School for Neurosciences at Bochum University. Previously, he worked as neurologist at the University Medical Hospital Goettingen, Dept. Clinical Neurophysiology. His main research interest is focused on cognitive neuroscience, and non-invasive brain stimulation approaches in humans.

Dr. Tim Oberlander is a Developmental Paediatrician physician-scientist whose work bridges developmental neurosciences and community child health.  As a clinician he works with the Complex Pain Service at BC Children’s Hospital and has a particular interest in managing pain in children with developmental disabilities. As a researcher his work focuses on understanding how early life experiences, related to in utero exposure to antidepressants and maternal depressed mood, shapes stress reactivity during childhood and pathways that contribute to the early origins of self-regulation. His work provides strong evidence that both maternal mood and in utero selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant exposure influences infant and child behavior in ways that reflect a remarkable capacity for plasticity and demonstrate that even in the face of adversity, some children do very well. The goal of his work is to understand how and why this happens and identify modifiable factors that can improve developmental health.​

Dr. Tim Oberlander is a Developmental Paediatrician physician-scientist whose work bridges developmental neurosciences and community child health.  As a clinician he works with the Complex Pain Service at BC Children’s Hospital and has a particular interest in managing pain in children with developmental disabilities. As a researcher his work focuses on understanding how early life experiences, related to in utero exposure to antidepressants and maternal depressed mood, shapes stress reactivity during childhood and pathways that contribute to the early origins of self-regulation. His work provides strong evidence that both maternal mood and in utero selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant exposure influences infant and child behavior in ways that reflect a remarkable capacity for plasticity and demonstrate that even in the face of adversity, some children do very well. The goal of his work is to understand how and why this happens and identify modifiable factors that can improve developmental health.​

Education:
University of Bonn, Germany B.Sc. 1992 Biology
University of Bonn, Germany Diploma/Msc 1995 Biology
University of Bonn, Germany Ph.D. 1998 Cellular and Molecular Biology
University California San Diego, Postdoctoral fellow 2001 Molecular Cell Biology

Positions:
2001 - 2003 Assistant project scientist, University California San Diego, School of Medicine, CA
2003 - Professor for Pathobiochemistry, Universty Medical Center Mainz, Germany

Our studies have focused on the biology of lipoprotein receptors, the protein biology of the development of Alzheimer Disease (AD) and the function of the blood brain barrier (BBB). My laboratory focusses on in vitro transport analysis of toxic waste products across artificial BBB-models. We employ radiolabeling techniques to determine exact transport kinetics in this system. Subsequent in vivo analysis of such transport routes is investigated in regard to different neurodegenerative disorders. We have identified the low density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP1) as the most prominent transporter of toxic peptides across the BBB in vitro and in vivo. Recently we were able to target lipoprotein receptor expression at the BBB using PCSK9 inhibitors to boost LRP1 mediated clearance mechanisms.

Education:
University of Bonn, Germany B.Sc. 1992 Biology
University of Bonn, Germany Diploma/Msc 1995 Biology
University of Bonn, Germany Ph.D. 1998 Cellular and Molecular Biology
University California San Diego, Postdoctoral fellow 2001 Molecular Cell Biology

Positions:
2001 - 2003 Assistant project scientist, University California San Diego, School of Medicine, CA
2003 - Professor for Pathobiochemistry, Universty Medical Center Mainz, Germany

Our studies have focused on the biology of lipoprotein receptors, the protein biology of the development of Alzheimer Disease (AD) and the function of the blood brain barrier (BBB). My laboratory focusses on in vitro transport analysis of toxic waste products across artificial BBB-models. We employ radiolabeling techniques to determine exact transport kinetics in this system. Subsequent in vivo analysis of such transport routes is investigated in regard to different neurodegenerative disorders. We have identified the low density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP1) as the most prominent transporter of toxic peptides across the BBB in vitro and in vivo. Recently we were able to target lipoprotein receptor expression at the BBB using PCSK9 inhibitors to boost LRP1 mediated clearance mechanisms.

Academia (1987 to date)
Study of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Regensburg, Germany
PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Physiology at the University of Regensburg – Institute of Physiology.
Topics: Physiological growth processes in the kidney (compensatory renal growth) and uterus, oxygen sensing, hypoxia regulated gene expression
Post Doc in Physiology at the University of Regensburg – Institute of Physiology
Topics: The role of cAMP and cGMP degrading phosphodiesterases (PDEs) on kidney function and in the cardiovascular system
Extraordinary Professor (Apl. Prof.) and Lecturer in Pharmacology at Hannover Medical School, Hannover Germany
Bayer AG, Pharmaceuticals (2001 to date)
Research Scientist and Lab head in Preclinical Pharmacology in the Institute of Cardiology at Bayer AG – Global Drug
Discovery – Wuppertal Research Center
Chief Scientist and Distinguished Science Fellow (Scientific Vice President) at Bayer

• Expert in NO/sGC/cGMP signaling pathway in cardiovascular, cardio-pulmonary and cardio-renal diseases
• Responsible for the preclinical pharmacology of the Bayer PDE5 inhibitor vardenafil and the sGC agonist pipeline including the sGC stimulators riociguat and vericiguat
• Evaluation of the therapeutic potential of sGC stimulators and sGC activators in cardiology and beyond

Academia (1987 to date)
Study of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Regensburg, Germany
PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Physiology at the University of Regensburg – Institute of Physiology.
Topics: Physiological growth processes in the kidney (compensatory renal growth) and uterus, oxygen sensing, hypoxia regulated gene expression
Post Doc in Physiology at the University of Regensburg – Institute of Physiology
Topics: The role of cAMP and cGMP degrading phosphodiesterases (PDEs) on kidney function and in the cardiovascular system
Extraordinary Professor (Apl. Prof.) and Lecturer in Pharmacology at Hannover Medical School, Hannover Germany
Bayer AG, Pharmaceuticals (2001 to date)
Research Scientist and Lab head in Preclinical Pharmacology in the Institute of Cardiology at Bayer AG – Global Drug
Discovery – Wuppertal Research Center
Chief Scientist and Distinguished Science Fellow (Scientific Vice President) at Bayer

• Expert in NO/sGC/cGMP signaling pathway in cardiovascular, cardio-pulmonary and cardio-renal diseases
• Responsible for the preclinical pharmacology of the Bayer PDE5 inhibitor vardenafil and the sGC agonist pipeline including the sGC stimulators riociguat and vericiguat
• Evaluation of the therapeutic potential of sGC stimulators and sGC activators in cardiology and beyond

Associate Professor, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour & Radboudumc, Nijmegen. I conduct research at the intersection of neuroimaging and human genetics with the principal goal to understand biological factors and processes that underlie the onset and course of mental health problems. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 2012 for my work on diffusion imaging and genetic risk for bipolar disorder. I was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, analysing neuroimaging (endo)phenotypes of psychiatric disorders through pedigree studies and genomic analyses. In 2015 I joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where I worked on high-field MRI analysis and meta-analyses of functional MRI studies in relation to psychiatric disorders. I was awarded a NARSAD Young Investigator Award in 2016. I joined the Donders Institute and Radboudumc in Nijmegen in 2017, after obtaining a Hypatia Tenure-Track Grant for my project “Determinants of Long-term Trajectories in ADHD (DELTA)". As part of the HORIZON Europe FAMILY Consortium additional current work focuses on the development of multivariate neuroimaging genetics methods with applications to understand and stratify the many facets underlying mental health problems. Major themes in my work are transdiagnostic perspectives on psychiatry, original data-driven statistics, reproducibility, and embracing the complexity of gene-environment interplay.

Associate Professor, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour & Radboudumc, Nijmegen. I conduct research at the intersection of neuroimaging and human genetics with the principal goal to understand biological factors and processes that underlie the onset and course of mental health problems. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 2012 for my work on diffusion imaging and genetic risk for bipolar disorder. I was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, analysing neuroimaging (endo)phenotypes of psychiatric disorders through pedigree studies and genomic analyses. In 2015 I joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where I worked on high-field MRI analysis and meta-analyses of functional MRI studies in relation to psychiatric disorders. I was awarded a NARSAD Young Investigator Award in 2016. I joined the Donders Institute and Radboudumc in Nijmegen in 2017, after obtaining a Hypatia Tenure-Track Grant for my project “Determinants of Long-term Trajectories in ADHD (DELTA)". As part of the HORIZON Europe FAMILY Consortium additional current work focuses on the development of multivariate neuroimaging genetics methods with applications to understand and stratify the many facets underlying mental health problems. Major themes in my work are transdiagnostic perspectives on psychiatry, original data-driven statistics, reproducibility, and embracing the complexity of gene-environment interplay.

Ulrik Sundekilde is trained as a molecular biologist combined with food science. Ulrik is currently Associate Professor at Department of Food Science, Aarhus University in Denmark. His research group focus on mother’s milk composition and infant metabolism through multi-omics research. The focus of his research group is on investigating human milk nutritional components, and how these vary by maternal health attributes, diet, gestational and lactational age, and other factors. Another focus area is investigating how the infant and infant gut microbiota metabolizes mother’s milk nutrients. The analytical technologies used in his research group to study both the human milk and infant biofluids include NMR and LC-MS-based metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics. The overall aim is to identify bioactives in human milk and build mechanisms for their actions on supporting infants’ growth and development or influencing infants’ gut microbiota.

Ulrik Sundekilde is trained as a molecular biologist combined with food science. Ulrik is currently Associate Professor at Department of Food Science, Aarhus University in Denmark. His research group focus on mother’s milk composition and infant metabolism through multi-omics research. The focus of his research group is on investigating human milk nutritional components, and how these vary by maternal health attributes, diet, gestational and lactational age, and other factors. Another focus area is investigating how the infant and infant gut microbiota metabolizes mother’s milk nutrients. The analytical technologies used in his research group to study both the human milk and infant biofluids include NMR and LC-MS-based metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and genomics. The overall aim is to identify bioactives in human milk and build mechanisms for their actions on supporting infants’ growth and development or influencing infants’ gut microbiota.

Dr. Dorothy Tse is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, UK. She is an honorary fellow at the Edinburgh Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, UK. She received her MSc and PhD in Neuroscience from University of Edinburgh, UK.
As a neuroscientist, her scientific interest is in understanding the neurobiology of learning and memory, how to detect early onset dementia and healthy ageing. She has published in numerous academic journals (e.g Science 2007; 2011) including on memory.
She was elected as a Young Scientist Lead of the European Brain and Behaviour Society executive committee. She is also the lead of the Liverpool Neuroscience Early Career Researcher group.

Dr. Dorothy Tse is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, UK. She is an honorary fellow at the Edinburgh Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, UK. She received her MSc and PhD in Neuroscience from University of Edinburgh, UK.
As a neuroscientist, her scientific interest is in understanding the neurobiology of learning and memory, how to detect early onset dementia and healthy ageing. She has published in numerous academic journals (e.g Science 2007; 2011) including on memory.
She was elected as a Young Scientist Lead of the European Brain and Behaviour Society executive committee. She is also the lead of the Liverpool Neuroscience Early Career Researcher group.

Louise van der Weerd is an associated professor at Leiden University Medical Center, departments of Radiology & Human Genetics. She obtained her MSc in Molecular Sciences, and het PhD in Biophysics at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After her PhD, she moved to London for post-doctoral training at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, where she became interested in translational imaging in rodents and humans to study the brain. She moved to Leiden in 2005 to establish a pre-clinical imaging group. A physicist by training, she studies neurovascular diseases with in vivo and post-mortem imaging techniques, including MRI, multiphoton microscopy, and histology. She is specifically interested in the pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).

Louise van der Weerd is an associated professor at Leiden University Medical Center, departments of Radiology & Human Genetics. She obtained her MSc in Molecular Sciences, and het PhD in Biophysics at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. After her PhD, she moved to London for post-doctoral training at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, where she became interested in translational imaging in rodents and humans to study the brain. She moved to Leiden in 2005 to establish a pre-clinical imaging group. A physicist by training, she studies neurovascular diseases with in vivo and post-mortem imaging techniques, including MRI, multiphoton microscopy, and histology. She is specifically interested in the pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).

Dr. Sanne van Rooij is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University (Atlanta, USA) and Associate Director of Scientific Outreach of the Grady Trauma Project. Her research aims to identify neurobiological predictors for resilience versus risk in the aftermath of trauma, PTSD development and treatment response, and the investigation of neuromodulation treatments in a trauma-exposed urban population.
Dr. van Rooij received her Ph.D. in Clinical Neuroscience in 2015 from Utrecht University, the Netherlands where she performed a pre- and post-treatment neuroimaging study in war veterans with PTSD mentored by Drs. Elbert Geuze and René Kahn. As a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Tanja Jovanovic and Kerry Ressler at Emory University, she studied neural correlates of PTSD in acutely and chronically traumatized civilians.
Currently, Dr. van Rooij is the director of the stress and neuromodulation lab (SNL) at Emory. She is supported by a NIMH K01 to investigate the effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on PTSD neuroimaging and psychophysiological biomarkers, and by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD) to study personalization of TMS treatment targets using fMRI and the effect of amygdala ablation on PTSD in epilepsy patients. She is also co-investigator on two multi-site NIH grants, including the longitudinal Emergency Department Study AURORA, and an active member of the ENIGMA/PGC-PTSD consortium.

Dr. Sanne van Rooij is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University (Atlanta, USA) and Associate Director of Scientific Outreach of the Grady Trauma Project. Her research aims to identify neurobiological predictors for resilience versus risk in the aftermath of trauma, PTSD development and treatment response, and the investigation of neuromodulation treatments in a trauma-exposed urban population.
Dr. van Rooij received her Ph.D. in Clinical Neuroscience in 2015 from Utrecht University, the Netherlands where she performed a pre- and post-treatment neuroimaging study in war veterans with PTSD mentored by Drs. Elbert Geuze and René Kahn. As a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Tanja Jovanovic and Kerry Ressler at Emory University, she studied neural correlates of PTSD in acutely and chronically traumatized civilians.
Currently, Dr. van Rooij is the director of the stress and neuromodulation lab (SNL) at Emory. She is supported by a NIMH K01 to investigate the effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on PTSD neuroimaging and psychophysiological biomarkers, and by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD) to study personalization of TMS treatment targets using fMRI and the effect of amygdala ablation on PTSD in epilepsy patients. She is also co-investigator on two multi-site NIH grants, including the longitudinal Emergency Department Study AURORA, and an active member of the ENIGMA/PGC-PTSD consortium.