Andrew received his B.Sc. from the University of Sunderland, and his Ph.D. from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. His research focused on genetic determinants of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. His postdoctoral studies were spent at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. Andrew worked at the National Institute on Aging at NIH from 2001 to 2025 ending his tenure as an NIH Distinguished Investigator and Director of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias at NIH. Andrew has published more than 750 articles on a wide variety of topics. His group works on the genetic basis of neurodegenerative disorders. This research aims to identify genetic variability that causes or contributes to disease and use this knowledge to understand the molecular processes underlying disease. Andrew has won numerous awards, including the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

Professor Tom Foltynie is a Professor of Neurology at UCL Institute of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London. He specialises in advanced treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD), including Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), Apomorphine, and Duodopa. As Chief Investigator, he leads trials on Exenatide, gene therapy, and cell therapy for PD, and oversees the Edmond J. Safra Accelerating Clinical Trials in PD project. His research includes DBS for cognitive issues in PD/DLB and severe Tourette syndrome. He trained at UCL, completed his PhD on PD heterogeneity in Cambridge, and became Professor in 2016.

Prof. Horacio Kaufmann is a distinguished Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, holding positions in Medicine, Neurology, and Pediatrics. He directs the Dysautonomia Center and Division of Autonomic Disorders. His research focuses on autonomic disorders caused by genetic and neurodegenerative conditions, including developing and validating new methods to measure if a potential drug being tested in future clinical trials of patients with MSA is effective.

Prof. Wassilios Meissner, MD PhD, is a Neurologist at the University of Bordeaux and a Visiting Professor at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute. He specializes in Movement Disorders, with a focus on Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonian disorders such as Multiple System Atrophy and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Currently at NZBRI, he is studying eye movement control in parkinsonian disorders. His research aims to identify markers of disease progression and develop new treatments for PD and MSA.

Dr. Zane Jaunmuktane is an academic neuropathologist at the Division of Neuropathology and the Queen Square Brain Bank, UCL, dedicated to advancing clinical neuropathology practice and research through cutting-edge technologies.

Her research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, investigating mechanisms of selective regional and cellular vulnerability and phenotypic diversity. Clinically, she specializes in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, as well as molecular neuro-oncology and peripheral nerve biopsy analysis.

Professor Vincenzo Libri is a Consultant in Clinical Pharmacology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at UCLH. He is also a Professor of Translational Neurology at UCL Institute of Neurology and Director of the Masters in Translational Neuroscience at UCL. His research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases and SARS-COV-2 vaccine trials. Prof. Libri has extensive experience in clinical pharmacology and early phase clinical trials, with numerous publications in prestigious medical journals.

Prof. Schrag is a Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at UCL with a specialist interest in movement disorders, particularly in the clinical aspects of Parkinson’s disease and atypical forms of parkinsonism. Her work on these disorders has been included in a number of national and international guidelines on the diagnosis and management of these disorders.

Professor Kailash Bhatia is a Professor of Clinical Neurology at UCL's Institute of Neurology and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology, Queen Square, London. He trained in neurogenetics and movement disorders at Queen Square after earning his medical and neurology degrees from Bombay University. A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the American Academy of Neurology, his research focuses on movement disorders like Dystonia and Parkinson’s disease. He has over 620 peer-reviewed publications and has edited several books, including the award-winning "Marsden’s Book of Movement Disorders." Professor Bhatia is the founding editor-in-chief of the Movement Disorders Clinical Practice Journal and has served on numerous international committees related to neurology.

Dr. Christopher Kobylecki is a consultant neurologist at the Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences and an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Manchester. He completed a PhD on L-DOPA-induced movements in Parkinson’s disease and has conducted postdoctoral research using PET and MR imaging in parkinsonian syndromes. He leads a specialist Movement Disorder clinic at Salford Royal and oversees the regional service for atypical parkinsonism. Dr. Kobylecki is a member of the Association of British Neurologists' movement disorder advisory group and chairs the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Multiple System Atrophy Trust. His research focuses on motor complications, cognitive and non-motor disorders in Parkinson’s disease, and imaging techniques in dystonia.

Dr Saima Sheikh graduated from University of Leeds Medical School in 2019. After completing her Foundation training in Southampton and Winchester, she undertook Internal Medicine Training in Southampton and Portsmouth. Currently Dr Sheikh is a Senior Research Fellow in Neurology in the Wessex Neurological Centre in Southampton. Here she is Sub-clinical Investigator in a range of clinical trials on Neurodegenerative conditions such as Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Multiple System Atrophy with Dr Boyd Ghosh as Principal Investigator, as well as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s Disease with Professor Christopher Kipps as Principal Investigator. She actively participates in the multidiciplinary Atypical Parkinsons Clinic, a specialist regional service run by consultant Neurologists, Dr Boyd Ghosh, and Dr Luke Massey and Clinical coordinator and highly specialised physiotherapist, Jade Donnelly. She is also working as a neurology registrar on the oncall rota.

Qualified in 1996; trained in both General Medicine and Neurology. In my dedicated Uro-Neurology clinics, I see patients across a wide range of neurological disorders that include Multiple sclerosis and related inflammatory disorders, dementias, Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinson's plus syndromes, spinal cord tumour and traumatic disorders such as cauda equina syndrome. A growing number of patients with unexplained bladder, sexual and bowel dysfunction are being referred for evaluating a possible neurological cause, and I lead a dedicated pelvic neurology service that includes pelvic neurophysiology testing evaluating the afferent and efferent sacral somatic innervation, urodynamics testing and close links with Neuroradiology. The department runs a dedicated service for young women presenting with unexplained urinary retention, many of whom ultimately are found to have a primary disorder of sphincter relaxation (Fowler’s syndrome).

Dr. Lotte Kjærsgaard is currently employed at H. Lundbeck A/S as Lead Medical Specialist in Clinical Development - Movement Disorders & Neurodegeneration. She also serves as the Global Trial Lead and Medical Expert for the MASCOT trial.

Dr. Kjærsgaard has 15 years of experience in clinical development, primarily in the field of neurodegeneration. Her expertise extends to neurosurgery and dermatology/immunology, with a strong background in the clinical development of small molecules, topical treatments, and monoclonal antibodies. She holds a medical degree from the University of Copenhagen.

Beatrice T. Yang (M.Sc.Eng) is currently working at H. Lundbeck A/S as Patient Insights Lead Specialist in Global Medical affairs. With 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working on various development projects spanning the life cycle, her current role is highly cross-functional and includes strategic research initiatives to support patient focused drug development. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Beatrice worked as a doctoral research assistant at a clinical research centre.

Caoimhe Morley is a final-year PhD candidate at UCL, currently working under Professor Christos Proukakis in the Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences. Caoimhe’s research explores how somatic mutations, which are acquired post-zygotically and result in genetic mosaicism, contribute to the pathology and regional patterns observed in MSA. Using a combination of cytogenetic techniques and targeted long-read sequencing, she hopes to provide greater insight into mutations that are often overlooked in traditional genetic analyses.

Previously, Caoimhe obtained an MSc in Medical Genetics and Genomics from the University of Glasgow, where her research involved analysing RNA sequencing datasets to identify molecular drivers of chemotherapy resistance within the bone marrow microenvironment of acute myeloid leukaemia. She also holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences (Biochemistry) from the National University of Ireland, Galway, where she conducted research on RNA helicases as regulators of DNA double-stranded break pathways. Caoimhe hopes to apply these insights to her current research on somatic mutations, and ultimately to the broader goal of deepening our understanding of MSA pathogenesis.

Chris Lambert is a clinical academic and consultant in movement disorders. He leads the anatomical phenomics research group at the Department of Imaging Neuroscience, UCL, that works to understand how variation in brain structure is linked to inter-individual variability in health and disease (https://qmaplab.com/). The over-arching aim of his group is to better understand the mechanisms that dictate how a disease manifests and progresses at the level of the individual, to enable earlier, more accurate diagnosis, deliver sensitive tools for disease monitoring in the absence of overt signs, and provide a framework to support the delivery of precision medicine. Through this work, he leads the longitudinal qMAP-PD cohort study focused on early-stage Parkinson’s and related conditions, and spearheads the multiscale modelling in Parkinson’s initiative that is working to develop tools to understand and integrate data across multiple biological scales, from in vitro cell models to in vivo whole brain dynamics, in the same individuals.

Karen Walker was appointed CEO of the Multiple System Atrophy Trust in November 2015 after serving as Interim CEO for six months. A personal friend of the Trust's founder, Sarah Matheson, Karen established her first Support Group in Yorkshire in 2007 before joining the Board in December 2009 as Trustee representing Support Groups nationwide. She became Services Committee Chair in 2011 and Chair of Resources, Audit, and Governance in June 2014, stepping down in June 2015 to act as Interim CEO. Since September 2024, Karen has been co-CEO alongside Andy in a job share capacity.

Karen's previous roles include founding and directing a company providing day care for young children, serving as national policy director for an early years charity, and being Director of Children's Services at a day care charity in London, supporting vulnerable children and their families.

Professor Henry Houlden is Professor of Neurology at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and an expert in inherited neurological disorders and movement disorders at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. His clinical expertise encompasses multiple system atrophy (MSA), ataxia, leukodystrophy, paroxysmal conditions, spastic paraplegia, and neuromuscular conditions.

Professor Houlden’s research group focuses on neurogenetics and movement disorders, particularly rare diseases with adult or childhood onset. His team integrates new gene discovery with exome and genome sequencing to identify disease genes such as CANVAS, NARS1, NKX-6.2, SCA11, SCA15, GRIA2, and GAD1. His research aims to understand the genetic basis of neurodegenerative disorders and translate these insights into disease-modifying treatments. Professor Houlden is particularly interested in diverse and underrepresented populations, ensuring that his work benefits a broad range of patients.

Dr. Valeria Iodice is a consultant in neurology and autonomic medicine, and an associate professor at University College London. Since 2013, she has led the autonomic unit at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. Her clinical and research interests in autonomic neurology were developed at three renowned centres: Mayo Clinic (USA), Imperial College London, and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UK).

Dr. Iodice graduated from University Federico II, Naples, Italy in 2003 and completed her residency in Neurology and Neurophysiology there in 2008. She received a clinical research fellowship in autonomic medicine at Mayo Clinic in 2007, where she began her research on the autonomic nervous system. In 2009, she was awarded the first Sir Roger Bannister fellowship in autonomic disorders and earned a PhD in neuroscience and autonomic neurology from Imperial College London.

Dr. Viorica Chelban is a clinical academic neurologist at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, specializing in translational neurodegeneration research. Trained in Moldova, France, and the UK, she has received prestigious fellowships and awards for her contributions to neurogenetics and neurodegeneration, including the discovery of three disease-causing genes and the treatment for one genetic disorder.

As founder and coordinator of the UK MSA Network and Biobank, she has established a pioneering resource integrating biosamples, clinical data, and neuroimaging to advance multiple system atrophy (MSA) research through advanced sequencing techniques, biomarker validation, and quality-of-care evaluation. She leads drug trial delivery for MSA at UCL and UK-wide.

Committed to education, Dr. Chelban established a neurogenetics course in Moldova, teaches neurology trainees in the UK, and supervises PhD and MSc research at UCL.

David Stamler, M.D. was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Alterity Therapeutics in January 2021 and previously served as the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Clinical Development since May of 2017. Prior to joining Alterity, Dr. Stamler served as the Vice President, Clinical Development and Therapeutic Head for Movement Disorders at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from 2015 to 2017 after Teva acquired Auspex Pharmaceuticals.

Dr Stamler was the Chief Medical Officer of Auspex from January 2011 until 2015. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at XenoPort, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from 2008 to 2010 and Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Drug Development at Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private pharmaceutical company, from 2005 to 2008. Before Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dr. Stamler worked at Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. and its subsidiaries from 1997 to 2005 in various leadership roles, including Vice President, Research and Development, Medical Sciences at Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc. from 2003 to 2005 and as Vice President, Clinical Research Centre at Fujisawa Research Institute of America from 2000 to 2003.

Dr. Stamler began his career at Abbott Laboratories, a publicly traded global pharmaceuticals and healthcare products company, where he served in various positions from 1993 to 1997, including Director of Clinical Research, Pharmaceutical Products for the International Division. Dr. Stamler received an M.D. from the University of Chicago - The Pritzker School of Medicine and a B.A. in Biology from the University of Chicago.