Current Neuropharmacology

Professor Tom Salt obtained his Degrees from The Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, is co-founder and Director of Neurexpert Ltd, and Emeritus Professor at University College London. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and acted as a consultant and adviser to industry. Professor Salt's research encompasses the pharmacology of neurotransmitters in relation to the sensory system systems, and more recently the functional consequences of neurodegeneration. He has published over 200 research and review papers, and is a member of several editorial boards and Editor in Chief of "Current Neuropharmacology"

Dr. Brooks has obtained his Ph.D Degree and he is a Member of (NECTAR - 1996-1999), EU Biomed2 consortium, 1996 - 1999 Dr. Brooks is Hartnett Professor of Neurology in the Department of Medicine, Imperial College, London. His research involves the use of positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose and study the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases in life and to validate imaging biomarkers for therapeutic trials. Research Areas: Parkinson’s disease, Neurolog, Alzheimer's disease, Sleep behavior disorder.

2003 Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Bologna; 2007 PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Bologna; 2006-2008 Research scientist (Department of Pharmacology, University of Bologna); 2007-2008 Postdoc in the laboratory directed by Prof. F.M. LaFerla, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine; 2008-now, Assistant Professor, Dept. Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna. The main research interests are the development of in vitro and in vivo models of neurodegeneration and the evaluation of new approaches to detect the cellular response to toxic stress and to improve the identification of neuroprotective agents.

Dr. Scarselli did his Ph.D in Neuropsychopharmacology from the University of Pisa (2003). He is a Research Fellow at the Lab of Molecular Pharmacology, NIDDK, NIH (2003-2008) and a Junior Leader at the Lab of Nanoscale Biology of EPFL, Switzerland (2008-2011). He also worked on the positions of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in Pharmacology at the University of Pisa. He has received national and international grants (e.g. Swiss National Science Foundation), and published many papers in the field of neuropharmacology in journals with high impact factor such as Nature Methods, PNAS, Molecular Pharmacology, European Neuropsychopharmacology and Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Prof. Alberto Fernández-Teruel is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry & Forensic Medicine (Medical Psychology Unit) of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) and Director of the Animal Research Laboratory of this Unit (“Animal and Human models of mental disorders” research group) since 2004. He received his PhD from UAB in 1989, and developed pre- and postdoctoral work at the University of Cagliari (Italy) and the ETH-Zentrum (Zürich, Switzerland) and the University of Cagliari, where he has also been Visiting Professor/Scientist. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles. Part of his research focuses on neurogenetics, quantitative genetics and neurobiology of anxiety, schizophrenia-relevant models, and the impact of early experience in these animal models.

Dr. Nimer Adeeb received his medical degree from An-Najah National University, Palestine in 2014. He joined the University of Southern California as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in 2015, focusing on the management of Skull Base Lesions. In 2016, he pursued a Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and BIDMC with a focus on surgical and endovascular management of Cerebral Aneurysms. Currently, he is completing a Neurosurgical Residency at Ochsner-LSU with the main research interest in Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Dr. Agorastos is Assist. Professor of Psychiatry at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and International Partner of the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH) in La Jolla, San Diego, CA, USA. He received his MD at the Medical University of Vienna, completed his doctorate, clinical training and professorial thesis at the University of Hamburg, his MSc in Affective Neuroscience at the Universities of Maastricht and Florence and his Postdoc Fellowship at USCD. Fields of expertise include stress- and trauma-related disorders.

Dr. Margarete Dulce Bagatini is an associate professor at the Federal University of Fronteira Sul/Brazil. She has a degree in Pharmacy and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry. She is a member of the UFFS research advisory committee and a member of the Biovitta Research Institute. She is currently the leader of the research group: Biological and Clinical Studies in Human Pathologies, professor of the postgraduate program in Biochemistry at UFSC, and postgraduate program in Biomedical Sciences by UFFS. She acts mainly on the following topics: oxidative stress, purinergic system, and human pathologies being a reviewer of several international journals and books.

Dr. Coizet completed his PhD in the Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience (LN2C, UMR 752, University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg). He then became a post-doctoral research assistant with Peter Redgrave and Paul Overton in Sheffield (UK). His research focused in large part on the basal ganglia and related structures, especially sensori-motor structures from the brainstem. He was appointed to an INSERM permanent research position at the Grenoble institute of neuroscience in 2009. His research project focused on the anatomical and functional link between the sensori-motor structures from the brainstem and the subthalamic nucleus. In Grenoble, he established multi sites in vivo single unit and field potential recordings within this network and equipped the laboratories for all kinds of sensory stimulations (visual, audition, pain …). These electro-physiological techniques are routinely combined with neuroanatomical tract tracing and immuno-histochemistry. He took advantage of his new working environment favoring clinical and pre-clinical research to study this network in Parkinson’s disease and animal models of this disease. This research combines electrophysiology with neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) via well-established collaborative national and international collaborators.

Dr. Jiajie Diao received his Ph.D. in December 2010 in Physics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Prof. Taekjip. Then he worked with Prof. Axel T. Brunger in Stanford University & HHMI as a postdoctoral fellow during 2011-2015. Around the end of 2015, he started his own research lab at the Department of Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. His main research interest is using advanced biophysical tools to study membrane biophysics.

Dr. Alexandre González-Rodríguez got his bachelor’s degree in Medicine at the University of Barcelona in 2008. He earned residency in Psychiatry (2009-2013) at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. His doctoral dissertation (University of Barcelona, 2018) was focused on the Biomarkers of treatment response in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia. He is working at the Partial Hospitalization Program of the Department of Mental Health at the Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Autonomous University of Barcelona. His research interests are gender differences in schizophrenia, hormonal and genetic factors on antipsychotic response in schizophrenia.

Dr. Kurt Leroy Hoffman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a Doctoral degree in Biology-Neuroscience from the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, Eugene, and did postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, University of California, Irvine. His work has involved the study of neurobiological and behavioral processes in a variety of model animals, ranging from Manduca sexta (the common tobacco hawkmoth) to the European rabbit, as well as diverse aspects of neurobiology and behavior, including neuronal differentiation, myelination, neuroendocrinology and programmed cell death, reproductive behavior, and animal models for studying obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

Dr. Liquan Huang received his B.Sc. degree from Zhejiang University and M.Sc. degree from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. He did his postdoctoral research at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University, followed by serving as a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania-affiliated Monell Chemical Senses Center. Currently, he is a professor at the College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. He has been investigating molecular mechanisms underlying taste and olfactory sensations and made some significant findings.

Dr. Khan is the Full Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM), Pakistan. In 20 years of his professional experience, he has significantly contributed to the teaching and training of pharmacy graduates and pharmacy-related services. Dr. Khan remained a member of AWKUM syndicate, executive member of the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan KP and editorial member of more than 15 journals. He is the author of 226 articles including editorial, review, research and four books including one by Elsevier. Moreover, several post-graduate scholars are working under his supervision.

Dr. Xingbao Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Medical University of South Carolina. He received his M.D. and M.S. in China and his M.S.C.R. in the U.S.A. US NIH has awarded Dr. Li in the development of addiction therapy. He has published more than 60 papers in peer-reviewed professional journals. He has also served as a reviewer for NIH Study Sections. His research interests include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), functional MRI, and combining TMS and functional MRI techniques in neuropsychiatry, especially in depression and substance abuse.

Prof. Tianfu Li graduated as MD from Taishan Medical University, received a Ph.D. from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University and Postdoctoral training in Legacy Clinical Research Institute in USA respectively. The major research work by Prof. Li and his group are on the pre-surgery evaluation for pharmacoresistant epilepsy and neuromodulation in treating pharmacoresistant epilepsy. He is the Vice director of Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University. Prof. Li has published a few articles in some important scientific journals including Journal of clinical investigation, Brain, Glia, Brain pathology, Nature communication, and Nature photonics. He serves as an associate editor for Neuropsychiatry, section editor for Current Neuropharmacology and guest editor for Frontiers in Neurology.

Dr. Peipeng Liang received a Ph.D. from Beijing University of Technology in 2009. He joined the Radiology department of Xuanwu Hospital as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in 2009 and became a research faculty in 2011. He now is a professor of the School of Psychology, Capital Normal University since 2018. His research direction is cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, including cognitive neural mechanism of human reasoning, the construction and application and human brain atlas, etc.

Dr. Ghulam Md Ashraf currently working as Associate Professor at King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from Aligarh Muslim University (India) in 2010. Dr. Ashraf has been involved in 14 research projects funded by various agencies of Saudi Arabia, and is a member of renowned professional associations and organizations. He has published 239 articles (total citations: 3301 h-index: 27, i10-index: 89) in journals and books of international repute. Dr. Ashraf is also involved in editorial capacity in many reputed journals, like PLOS one, Scientific Reports, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Current Proteins and Peptides, Journal of Proteomics, to mention a few. Dr. Ashraf’s prime field of research is neurology, currently focusing on understanding the molecular and behavioral mechanism of effects of anti-diabetic drugs in pyschotic and dementia conditions. His lab is currently investigating the effect of anti-diabetic drugs in effective reversal of anti-psychotic drugs induced weight gain in psychosis conditions in Wistar rats. Dr. Ashraf’s lab is also investigating the effect of anti-diabetic drugs in animal models of psychosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Konstantinos Palikaras is Assistant Professor of Experimental Physiology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in Athens, Greece. He is a molecular biologist who has great experience in energy metabolism, autophagy, and aging. His research focuses on studies of autophagy, mitophagy, and cellular homeostasis investigating the role of energy metabolism. His main interests are the molecular mechanisms of necrotic and mitophagic cell death and their interplay between cellular metabolism and aging, and the development of novel genetic tools for biomedical research. For his scientific accomplishments, Konstantinos Palikaras has received several notable scientific prizes including a “Fotis Kafatos” Award for excellence in biology from Hellenic Society of Bioscientists, Research Grant from Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI), AXA Research Fund Post-doctoral fellowship, Bodossaki Foundation Post-doctoral fellowship, DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics from Genetic Society of America and Manasaki Doctoral Fellowship from the University of Crete.

Dr. Rosati is a Comparative Anatomy and Cytology Researcher at the University of Naples (Italy), in 2014 he received a PhD in Advanced Biology at the University of Naples. In 2016 he was awarded the prize by Italian Society for Microscopical Sciences. In 2017 he was awarded the "Mariolina Capano" prize by the National Society of Sciences, Letters and Arts in Naples, for studies on reproduction control mechanisms. In 2018 he was awarded a Grant at the 64th GEI Conference. His main research interests are 1) the role of local factors (neuropeptides and steroidogenesis enzymes) in spermatogenesis control in the vertebrates 2) the use of vitellogenin as a biomarker of environmental pollution in aquatic organism 3) study of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and drugs in the vertebrate reproduction.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Department of Neurosciences ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’, University of Torino, Italy. Clinical activity at Psychiatric Unit of San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital of Orbassano (Torino), Italy. Lecturer at University of Turin: Medicine and Surgery School and other Degree Courses, Postgraduate School of Psychiatry. Author of over 80 publications on national and international peer reviewed journals. Research interests: mood disorders, clinical psychopharmacology, obsessive-compulsive disorder, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Dr. Concetta Scimone is researcher at Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and of Morphological and Functional Images, at University of Messina, Messina, Italy, and at Department of Biomolecular Strategies, Genetics and Avant-Garde Therapies, I.E.Me.S.T, in Palermo (Italy). She obtained a Master’s Degree in “Biotechnology for Health” at the University of Messina and completed her PhD in “Biology and Cellular Biotechnology”. She is a member of the Organizing committee and also a teaching staff of the Master in “Science-applied Bioinformatics and Biostatistics”. Her main research fields include brain microvasculature development and defective angiogenesis-related disorders, cerebral cavernous malformations and brain arteriovenous malformations. Dr. Scimone’s expertise include: genetics, molecular genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, next generation sequencing analysis, population genetics and regulation of gene expression.

Prof. Yuan Shi graduated as MD from Third Military Medical University and received a Ph.D. from Chongqing Medical University respectively. The major research work by Prof. Yuan Shi and his group are on neonatal respiratory diseases and brain injury. He is the chief of Department of Neonatology, Chongqing Medical University. In 2019, this department admitted over 12,000 newborn infants, which is indicated to have the biggest neonatal patient numbers in China. Prof. Shi has published a few articles in some important scientific journals including Pediatrics, Chest, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, Archives of Disease in Childhood, and Neonatology. He serves as an associate editor for BMC Pediatrics, section editor for Current Neuropharmacology, guest editor for Frontiers in Pediatrics and CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets.

Dr. Feng Tao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University College of Dentistry. Dr. Tao has published more than 50 papers in peer- reviewed professional journals. He is serving as an editorial board member for 6 professional journals and he is also an invited reviewer for NIH Study Sections, NSF-sponsored Pilot Funding, Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership Regenerative Medicine Initiative, Wings for Life−Spinal Cord Research Foundation in Austria, Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Spinal Cord Injury Neuropathic Pain Panel, and The French National Research Agency in France.

Dr. Wandong Zhang is a Senior Research Officer in the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He did his study in Medicine at the Southeast University School of Medicine in China and obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology & Genetics at the University of Guelph in Canada. He did his post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto/Ontario Cancer Institute and the University of British Columbia/BC Cancer Research Centre. Dr. Zhang published over 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences, including Nature, PNAS, J. Neuroscience, Neurobiol. Dis., J. Neuroinflammation, etc.

Dr. Zou is a Professor in the Central South University (CSU) and Vice Director of the department of Anesthesiology in Xiangya Hospital. After graduating from Xiangya Medical College he received M.D. and Ph.D. in anesthesiology from Xiangya Hospital of CSU. In 2014, he completed the postdoctoral research at the Solomon H. Snyder, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2013, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the department of Anesthesiology of Xiangya Hospital, and then became a Full Professor in 2018. A major goal of his laboratory is to elucidate mechanism of neuropathic pain and morphine tolerance.

Bilal CIG received his Bachelor of Science degree from Firat University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering in Elazig, Turkey, in 2009. He received his Master's degree in Biophysics from Suleyman Demirel University Health Sciences Institute in Isparta in 2014, and then his PhD in Neurosciences in 2018. He worked as a research assistant at the same university until 2020. Presently, he is working as an associate professor in Kirsehir, Kirsehir Ahi Evran University Medical University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology. He is still an editor in journals such as Frontiers in cell and Developmental Biology, Frontiers in Physiology, Biomed Research International, Ahi Evran Medical Journal. Most of his publications are in the field of TRP and neuroscience.

J. H. Abraini is the President of the International Group for High Pressure Biology (IGHPB). He is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Caen Medical School (France) and at Laval University Medical School , Department of Neuroscience and Psychiatry (QC, Canada ). He has published many scientific publications and his field of interest are Neuroprotection, Neurotransmission, Gamma-aminobutyric acid neuropharmacological investigations, postsynaptic dopamine receptors.

Dr. Akk obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Following postdoctoral training at the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University, he joined the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine, initially as a research associate and then as a faculty member. Dr. Akk is presently an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and a core member of the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research. Gustav Akk is an author of over 70 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Alldredge is a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco and he serves as Vice Provost-Academic Affairs . His clinical practice and research interests focus on epilepsy, seizure emergencies, prehospital care, and pharmacogenomics. He participates on invited review groups for the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders & Stroke, and he serves as a reviewer for journals in pharmacy, neurology and medicine. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and professional organizations.

Dr. Araki received his medical doctor’s degree and Ph.D. degree at Kyoto University in 1985 and 1992, respectively. He had postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), Tokyo, Japan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S.A. He has been working as a section chief at the National Institute of Neuroscience, NCNP since 1998. He is an author of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.

Jonathon Arnold is an Associate Professor in the Discipline of Pharmacology. He has over 60 publications which have received > 2000 citations (h-index = 25). His research has attracted national and international funding. He regularly reviews grants for the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, the Marsden Fund (New Zealand), the Medical Research Foundation (UK),. Field of Interest: Neuropharmacology; Schizophrenia; Pharmacology; Substance abuse and addiction; Behavioural neuroscience

Dr. Atwood obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. He has held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and Case Western Reserve University prior to his current appointments as an Associate Professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Medicine, and as a Health Science Specialist within the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital, Madison. He has published more than 150 scientific publications, is an inventor on 8 issued U.S. patents and is a top cited author (h-index =45). He has received a number of awards for his teaching and research, including the Zenith Fellows Award from the Alzheimer’s Association.

Massimo Avoli is a Physician Scientist who performs research as a Faculty member of the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University. He is a Professor in the McGill University's Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery and of Physiology as well as Professor of Human Physiology in the Department of Experimental Medicine at the Sapienza University of Rome. Dr. Avoli’s main interests are directed to the fundamental abnormalities that lead to the generation of seizures by employing electrophysiological recording in in vivo and in vitro experimental models of epilepsy. In his current research, Dr. Avoli explores the role played by inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms in the synchronicity of neuronal networks of the limbic system, and thus in seizure initiation. He is also addressing the changes in excitability that contributes to epileptogenesis in temporal lobe epilepsy as well as the mechanisms of action of anti-epileptic drugs.

Gholamreza Azizi received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He is an investigator in the Non-communicable Diseases Research Center at Alborz University of Medical Sciences. His research focuses is on understanding the immunological mechanisms of immune regulation in patients with primary immunodeficiency and autoimmunity as well as the use of tyrosine kinases inhibitors to reduce inflammation in an animal model of multiple sclerosis.

Professor Bahr is trained in the fields of chemistry, molecular biology, and neuroscience and is the lead investigator for several grants studying Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. Upon receiving his Ph.D. from University of California–Santa Barbara, Dr. Bahr joined the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at University of California–Irvine as a researcher and lecturer. Currently, Dr. Bahr is the William C. Friday Chair and Distinguished Professor at the Pembroke campus of University of North Carolina. He has over 140 publications and several patents and pending patents on first-in-class neuroprotective compounds and their uses.

Dr. Bakalova obtained a doctor (PhD) degree in Biochemistry & Biophysics from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as well as a doctor of science (DSci) degree in Biological Sciences from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria. She has over 180 scientific publications and 12 Japanese patents. The main scientific interests of Dr. Bakalova are in the field of molecular imaging, molecular probe design, drug delivery systems, and nanomedicine. Recent studies are focused on redox-imaging and image-guided redox-modulation in cancer, as well as in nano-theranostics for cancer therapy.

Dr. Ballanyi obtained a Dr. rer. nat. (equivalent to a Ph.D.) in Zoology from the University of Munich in Germany. Currently, he is Professor at the Department of Physiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Dr. Ballanyi’s main research topic is modulation of rhythmically active neuron-glia networks in newborn mammals by clinically important agents like opioids or methylxanthines and pathological processes like hypoxia and ischemia. He published >130 articles so far. He is also editor of the European Journal of Physiology (Pflügers Archiv) and Frontiers in Physiology (Respiratory Physiology).

Laura Ballerini graduated (MD) at the Università di Firenze, Italy in 1988. She was a Postdoctoral fellow (Physiology Department) at UCL (London, UK) from 1991 and later became assistant professor of Physiology at the Biophysics Sector of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA-ISAS) of Trieste, Italy in 1995. In 2002 Laura Ballerini became associate professor of Physiology at the Life Science Department, Università di Trieste, Italy, where in 2012 she became full professor of Physiology and from January 2016 to date she is chair professor of physiology at SISSA. She has provided important contribution to the understanding of spinal network physiology, plasticity and development. Recently, she has been working on the interactions between living neurons and micro-nano fabricated substrates or bioactive-composite containing carbon nanotubes. The scientific strategy at the core of these activities is the convergence between nanotechnology, chemistry and neurobiology.

Dr. Bamburg obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana and a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford Univ. he joined the faculty of Colorado State University where he holds the rank of professor emeritus. He has been a visiting professor in England, New Zealand, Australia and at Univ. California San Diego and the Scripps Research Institute, LaJolla. He has published more than 200 scientific papers and review articles in natural products chemistry, protein chemistry, cell and molecular biology, cell biology and neuroscience journals.

Dr. Maria Luisa Barbaccia obtained a MD degree from the University of Milan, Medical School, Italy. Her research activity, mostly focused on various aspects of neuro-psychopharmacology, was performed at the Institute of Pharmacology of Milan University, Milan-Italy (1979-80), Washington D.C.-USA (1980-1988, first at NIMH/St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and later at Georgetown University/FGIN) and Rome-Italy. Currently Dr. Barbaccia is full professor of Pharmacology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata Medical School. She has authored/co-authored more than 90 scientific publications, mostly on peer-reviewed international journals.

Dr. Barr is an Investigator at BC Children's Hospital and Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, UBC. The central focus of his research is mental health and addictions, with a particular emphasis on psychosis and the medications used in its treatment. Research Areas Schizophrenia/Psychosis, Depression, Animal models, Biological mechanisms, Brain morphology, Clinical trials, Cognition, Drug development, Drug dosing, Drug side-effects , Neuropsychiatry/ Neuropsychology,Neurotransmitters, Psychostimulants.

Dr. Baskys has obtained a Ph. D degree and he is a Psychiatrist at University of California Riverside School of Medicine USA. His area of interest includes Neurobiology, Neurodegenerative diseases, Clinical Psychiatry, Neurodegeneration, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Brain.

Dr. Baudry is the Dean and graduate College of Biomedical Sciences at Western University of Health Sciences; he is former professor of biological sciences, neurology and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California. He is an internationally known neuroscientist who has published more than 400 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Besides he is one of the 100 most-cited neuroscientists in the world, according to the ISI database and served on numerous National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health studies. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris in 1971 and earned PhD in biochemistry from the University of Paris VII in 1977 under the direction of professors J.C. Schwartz and J.P. Changeux, who are two of France’s most distinguished neurobiologists.

Michael S. Beattie, Ph.D. Dr. Beattie received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1977, where he stayed on to become the founding chair of the Department of Neuroscience, leaving for the University of California, San Francisco in 2006. He is currently Co-Director and Director of Research for the Brain and Spinal Injury Center (BASIC) at UCSF. His interests are in preclinical and clinical neurotrauma. He has published more than 150 peer reviewed papers and serves on multiple editorial and federal review panels.

Dr. Benoit obtained a Ph.D. degree and he is an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Director of Continuing Medical Education, Benoit. His research interests focus on neurobiological controls over behavior with emphasis on food intake and learning. Other studies have focused on the role of learning in the control of ingestive behavior Research Areas Obesity, Learning, Neuroendocrinology.

Cordian Beyer obtained his Ph.D. degree in Biology from the University Ulm, Germany, in 1991. Thereafter, he spent several years at the MRC Babraham in Cambridge, UK, After returning to Ulmin 1996 he became assistant professor and in 2001 associated professor in the department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. From 2003-2005, he remained the Academic Director of the Institute of Anatomy at the University Tuebingen, Germany. Since 2005, he is Head of the Institute of Neuroanatomy at the RWTH Aachen, Germany. Dr. Beyer has published more than 200 scientific publications and is in the Editorial Board of several international journals.

Dr. Bhide is Eminent Scholar, Professor and Director of the Center for Brain Repair at Florida State University College of Medicine. He received his degree in Veterinary Medicine from Veterinary College, Bangalore, India, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He obtained postdoctoral research training at University College London, England, Yale University, New Haven, CT, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Dr. Bhide was Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chair for Neurology Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston until 2011, when he accepted his current position at FSU. Dr. Bhide is senior editor of the journal Developmental Neuroscience. He has served on various committees for a number of scientific organizations including the US National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration, Autism Speaks and National Parkinson’s Foundation. Dr. Bhide founded Avekshan LLC, a Tallahassee based pharmaceutical company in 2013.

Dr. Arjan Blokland received his PhD in Neuroscience from Maastricht University in 1992. He did a post doc at the University of Cambridge in 1992. In 1993 he took a position as laboratory head at Tropon (CNS research Bayer. He returned to Maastricht University in 1996 as a Research Fellow. Currently, he is an associate Professor and Head of Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. He published over 170 papers in international peer reviewed journals, and is a co-inventor of 4 patents (pending). He received various types of funding for his research and has many collaborations in Maastricht and the rest of the world.

Dr. Boehm obtained an MD from the University of Vienna, Austria, in 1987 and received his postdoctoral education in Vienna and Frankfurt/Main, Germany. He had been Professor of Neuropharmacology at the Medical University of Graz and was appointed Professor of Neuropharmacology at the Medical University of Vienna in 2007. There, he is head of the Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the Doctoral School. His research focuses on mechanisms underlying pre‐ as well as postsynaptic modulation of synaptic transmission and on mechanisms of action of analgesic as well as anticonvulsant drugs.

Dr. Boison has a passion for translational research and aims to translate fundamental mechanisms of biochemistry and energy homeostasis into novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions. A major research effort is the development of adenosine augmentation therapies for the treatment of epilepsy. He graduated at the University of Cologne, Germany, in 1994 with a PhD in Biochemistry. In 1995, he started his independent research career at the University and Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich where he received the venia legendi in Cellular Pharmacology in 2005 for his work on cell-based adenosine augmentation therapies for epilepsy. In the same year he joined Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon, where he is currently the Chair and Director of the Robert Stone Dow Neurobiology Laboratories and Director of Basic and Translational Research of the Legacy Research Institute. In addition, He h has faculty appointments at Oregon Health and Science University and at Washington State University.

Dr. Bolshakov performed his post-doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Siegelbaum. He joined McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School in 1999, and he is presently a professor at HMS. In his studies, Dr. Bolshakov focuses on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms of learned and innate behaviors using a combination of electrophysiological, cell biological, and optogenetic techniques.

Roland Brandt studied biochemistry and philosophy at the Universities of Tübingen and Berlin. After obtaining his doctoral degree at the Free University of Berlin, he continued as postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Neurologic Diseases (CND) at Harvard Medical School, Boston (USA). After returning to Germany, he became an independent research group leader at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience (IZN) of the University of Heidelberg. Since 2002 he is Full Professor and Head of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Osnabrück. He has published more than 80 scientific publications, co-edited two books and is currently editorial board member of “Current Neuropharmacology”, review editor of “Frontiers in Neurodegeneration”, associate editor of “Biological Chemistry”, and honorary editorial board member of “Brain Research Bulletin”.

Dr. Bruijnzeel obtained a Ph.D. degree in Neuropsychopharmacology, from Utrecht University. He is an Associate Professor at University of Florida College of Medicine, USA. His current research focuses on drug addiction, stress, anxiety, nicotine, alcohol, and opioid addiction. His research areas are Nicotine and alcohol dependence of brain.

István Bókkon is a research fellow at Psychoszomatic Outpatient Department, Budapest, Hungary and a Professor at Vision Research Institute, Neuroscience Department, Lowell, MA, USA. He is also a lecturer at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Psychology Department in Hungary. He graduated as a chemical engineer and later as a bioengineer at the Technical University Budapest. Then, he performed PhD studies and got pre-degree certificate at the Semmelweis University in Pharmacology. He has a research focus on biophysical neuroscience. His main areas of research interest are functional role of free radicals, unconscious processes, visual thinking, visual representations and epigenetics. He has published over 35 peer reviewed papers, some invited reviews and book chapters. His papers have been cited over 400 times.

Dr. Cadet has obtained his Ph. D and he is a researcher and focuses on studies of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of psychostimulant addiction and toxicity. Dr. Cadet’s group has provided recent evidence that methamphetamine (METH) self-administration is accompanied with markers of toxicity in striatal dopaminergic systems. These results are consistent with the idea that catecholamines, especially, dopamine can activate neurodegenerative processes in the mammalian brain. Research Areas: Neuropeptides, Dopaminergic Systems, Neurodegnerative processes, Brain.

Dr. Calabresi has obtained his Ph.D and he is a full professor at Neurology and Chairman of Neurology at the University of Perugia, Italy. In the last two decades, Prof. Calabresi’s research has investigated the synaptic communication between the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia, focussing on corticostriatal synapses and their activity-dependent plasticity. In particular, Prof. Calabresi’s group has extensively investigated how corticostriatal communication depends on the activation of dopamine receptors and how it is affected by pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Research Areas: Dopamine-mediated regulation, neurons, Parkinson's disease, basal ganglia.

Guy A. Caldwell, Ph.D., is a University Distinguished Research Professor at The University of Alabama. He also holds an appointment at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham as an Adjunct Research Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology, where he is also a scientist in the Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics. Dr. Caldwell received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Washington & Lee University and his Ph.D. in Cell, Molecular & Developmental Biology from The University of Tennessee. As a postdoc at Columbia University in the lab of 2008 Nobel Laureate, Dr. Martin Chalfie, he was twice named the recipient of fellowships from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Caldwell serves on the editorial boards of Human Molecular Genetics, Disease Models and Mechanisms, ACS Chemical Neuroscience, and Current Neuropharmacology. Dr. Caldwell was honored in U.S. Congress with the 2005 Carnegie Foundation and Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) U.S. Professor of the Year award.

Dr. Calkins holds a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelpha. He is currently Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Pharmacology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Director of the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. He also is Vice Chair and Director for Research of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute. He has published more over 70 primary research articles, reviews and chapters and serves on the editorial board for several journals.

Dr. Cristine Alves da Costa obtained a doctorate (PhD) in Toxicology from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, USP, Brazil in 1997. Actually, Dr .Alves da Costa is a research director at INSERM and drives a team at the “Institute of Pharmacology Moléculaire et Cellulaire” (IPMC-CNRS). Her research interests include neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. Dr. Alves da Costa is currently an Editorial board member of this journal (Current Neuropharmacology), published by Bentham Science Publishers.

Dr.Luca Cucullo is a Professor in the Dept of Foundational Medical Studies at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.He has over 20 years of research experience in cerebrovascular modeling in vitro for toxicological, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of drugs targeting the brain. Dr. Cucullo's research interests are largely focused the cross interactions between the cellular elements of the neurovascular unit, the development of multidrug resistance at the BBB, biomarkers of BBB disruption, environmental and cellular modulation of BBB functions and their relevance to the onset of neuroinflammation, stroke/ischemia, and the pathogenesis of secondary brain injury.

Francesca Fallarino is an associate professor at the University of Perugia (Italy), department of experimental Medicine. Francesca Fallarino’s reseach focus is on the study of the specific mechanisms involved in immune regulation. In this field, she has greatly contributed to the subject of immune tolerance, providing evidence that: (a) tryptophan catabolism in tolerogenic dendritic cells can exert profound immunoregulatory effects on T lymphocytes as well as on otherwise immunostimulatory dendritic cells (DCs); (b) kynurenines, the products of tryptophan catabolism, can regulate neuroinflammation and in autoimmunity through the activation of specific receptors.

Dr. Christian Felder received a BS in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary, and his PhD in Biochemistry from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Neuroscience Division at Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis where he leads a drug development research lab focused on neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. He is also the program Director for the external Lilly Innovation Fellowship Awards program (LIFA) and internal Lilly Research Labs post doc program. Dr. Felder has published over 130 scientific articles, reviews and book chapters and has had numerous invitations to speak at universities and international scientific conferences.

Marco Fiore is a researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Italian National Research Council IBBC-CNR. He graduated in Natural Sciences and Biological Sciences at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He received his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences at the Psychiatric Department of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Also, he potentiated his professional experience at the Institute of Zoology, Oxford University, UK and at the Department of Physiology and Behavior, University of California at Davis, CA-USA.

Dr Hill received his academic training at the University of London. He was a lecturer in Pharmacology at the University of Bristol School of Medicine from 1974 to 1983 and supervisor in Pharmacology at Downing College, University of Cambridge from 1983 to 1988. He joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1983 as Head of Biology at the Park Davis Research Unit, Cambridge. In 1988 he joined Smith, Kline and French (UK) as Group Director, Pharmacology. From 1990 until his retirement in 2008 he worked in drug discovery research for Merck / MSD. He serves on the editorial boards of a number of journals, has been a Council Member of the British Pain Society, is President Emeritus, British Pharmacological Society and was coopted Member of Council, Academy of Medical Sciences. Between 1996 and 2003 he was a member of the ABPI R&D committee and was a member of the EFPIA Research Directors Group until 2008. He was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics until 2013 and is a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Dr Hill has published more than 200 peer reviewed papers on the pharmacology of opioids and other analgesic drugs and on the role of substance P, CGRP, bradykinin and other peptides in emesis, nociception and the control of food intake. He is co-author (with J.A. Alexander) of a text book on Postoperative Pain Control and (with HP Rang) of one on Drug Discovery and Development.

Peter Illes has studied medicine and has been Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Freiburg and afterwards Full Professor and Director of the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Leipzig, Germany He has obtained numerous awards and distinctions; he is also member of several professional organizations such as the Academia Europaea or the Czech Learned Society. He has been awarded by a honorary Doctorate in Budapest, Hungary, and honorary Professorates in Shanghai and Chengdu, China. He is neuroscientist with special emphasis on two types of ATP-sensitive receptors, belonging to the P2X3 and P2X7 class.

Dr. Nobuhisa Iwata obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences (Tokyo, Japan), then worked at National Institute of Health Sciences (Tokyo, Japan), Tokyo Medical University (Tokyo, Japan), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Bethesda, US), and RIEKN Brain Science Institute (Wako, Japan). Currently Dr. Iwata is a full professor in Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University. He has published more than 100 scientific publications, including Science, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, Cell Stem Cell, etc. Dr. Iwata was appointed the Regional Editor of this journal (Current Neuropharmacology, CN), published by Bentham Science Publishers, in 2004.

Dr. Mikhail Kalinichev obtained a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University (USA). Currently Dr. Kalinichev is a Director, In Vivo Neurology-Toxins in Ipsen Innovation, France. Previously, Dr. Kalinichev worked at Lundbeck pharmaceuticals (Denmark), Addex Therapeutics (Switzerland) and GlaxoSmithKline (UK). He has published more than 40 scientific publications.

Dr. Mancebo has got a Ph.D. and serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of Multispan, Inc. Dr. Mancebo has over 10 years experience in drug discovery research and management in the biotech industry and 15 years research experience in signal transduction. Dr. Mancebo held increasing responsibilities in research and project management at 3 leading biotech drug discovery companies including Tularik (Amgen), Rigel, and Abgenix (Amgen). Prior to founding Multispan, she served as the Director of Business Development at Epitomics. Dr. Mancebo holds a Ph.D. in Genetics/Immunology from Yale University and M.S. in Chemistry from Yale University.

Seyed Mohammad Nabavi is a biotechnologist and senior scientist of Applied Biotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science and a member of Iran's National Elites Foundation. His research focuses on the molecular pharmacology of natural products. He is author/co-author of 250 publications in international journals, 51 communications at national and international congress, and six chapters in book series. Seyed Mohammad Nabavi has been selected as a group of scientists recognized as Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics, 2018.

Prof. Pradeep Nathan is Vice President, CNS Clinical Development and Experimental Medicine at Heptares Therapeutics, and Professor of Neuroscience at Monash University. He read pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of Melbourne followed by a PhD in Neuroscience. He has more than 20 years clinical research experience and held positions in both academia and industry. Prof. Nathan has published more than 200 research papers and his research has been cited over 8500 times in academic journals. He has received many research awards including the Australian Young Tall Poppy Science Award, the Brain and Behaviour Foundation, Independent Investigator Award and the British Association for Psychopharmacology, Clinical Psychopharmacology Award.

Marco Peviani received his PhD in 2010 from Open University (UK) and Mario Negri Institute (Italy) studying preclinical models of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). As post-doc at University of Pavia he validated Sigma-1 receptor as therapeutic target for ALS; in 2014 he moved to San Raffaele Institute and then he joined the gene therapy program at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s hospital and Harvard as instructor, to optimize a new gene therapy approach for Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis. Since 2019, he is Assistant Professor at University of Pavia. His major research focus is development of new gene/drug-delivery tools and MRI/PET tracers for neurodegenerative disorders.

MP is Professor of Pharmacology at University of Milano (Italy). He was trained in Biochemistry/Cell Biology at University of Naples and received postdoctoral training at Int. Inst. Genet. Biophysics (Naples), and Dept. of Psychiatry at Washington University, (St. Louis, MO). His studies have contributed to characterization of cellular/molecular mechanisms involved in pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and psychotropic drug action. He received a NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, and funding from national and international agencies, including EU. He is author of 120 publications, and currently field editor or editorial board member of neuropsychopharmacology/biological psychiatry journals.

Dr. Jayakumar Rajadas is currently working on the molecular mechanism of protein-initiated neurodegenerative disorders involved in Alzheimer’s and Lyme disease development using biophysical approaches. He is the founding director of the Biomaterials and Advanced Drug Delivery Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Rajadas obtained a doctorate in Chemistry from Indian Institute of technology. He has 72 US patents and pending applications. He has also authored 188 papers.

Dr. Michael Rogawski is a professor of Neurology and Pharmacology at the University of California, Davis. Until 2006, he was senior investigator and chief of the Epilepsy Research Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Dr. Rogawski holds a B.A. in biophysics from Amherst College and an M.D. and Ph.D. in pharmacology. Dr. Rogawski’s research encompasses cellular neurophysiological studies of ion channels; animal models of neurological disease, including epilepsy; and clinical studies of new therapeutics. His laboratory studies on AMPA receptors and neurosteroids have led to new treatment approaches for seizures and epilepsy, and the marketed treatment for postpartum depression brexanolone.

Dr. Bechan Sharma is presently working as a Professor, Biochemistry Department, Allahabad University, India. His interest includes Molecular Biology, Tropical Diseases and Biochemical Toxicology. With 30 years of teaching / research experience, he has received number of Awards and Honors. He has published over 170 research papers, 4 books and one US patent. He has supervised 15 PhDs and 5 PDFs. He is a Editorial Board /Reviewer member for 130 International journals. He has widely visited to USA and other European labs. He is currently involved in a multinational research project with Koyoto University-Japan on anti HIV-1Drug design and development.

Dr. Kyoungho Suk is a member of editorial board for the journal. He is currently a professor of Department of Pharmacology, Kyungpook National University (KNU) School of Medicine (Daegu, Korea), and the director of Brain Science & Engineering Institute of KNU. He obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology at University of California at Davis in 1994, and M.S. degree in Immunology at Cornell University in 1991. He graduated from KNU with the genetic engineering major in 1989. Dr. Suk received his postdoctoral training in the division of Rheumatology, Yale University School of Medicine, and he has been a visiting professor at Harvard Medical School between 2008 and 2009, during which he participated in large-scale experiments and systems biology approaches toward understanding of disease networks and pathways. Dr. Suk is the author of more than 200 papers published in peer-reviewed journals and holds patents on various therapeutic targets and lead compounds that could be used for the diagnosis or therapy of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

Deniz Bagdas is an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, the USA, and an Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology at Uludag University, Turkey. After she received her DVM, she earned her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology. During her Ph.D. and post-doctoral career, she had extensive training in behavioral neuroscience. Her interests are focused on the role of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in addiction as well as pain and inflammation. Currently, she has been investigating the impact of flavors on nicotine use with a focus on behaviors related to nicotine addiction in both adults and adolescence.

The research carried out by Dr. Alfonso Alfaro-Rodríguez has focused on the study of the chemistry of the brain. His studies are centered towards the search for neuronal damage mechanisms caused by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, brain injuries, and currently nociception. He has also dabbled in the study of several antiepileptic and antidepressant drugs over the central nervous system. The role of monoamines like serotonin and acetylcholine along with several catecholamines at neuronal and molecular level in the development of neurodegenerative diseases has been a central topic of his research. The research over the mechanisms of brain damage by means of different neurotoxic pathways unchained by neurodegenerative diseases has led him to successfully explore the role of neuroprotective drugs in a myriad of animal models. With his research he has facilitated the assessment of neuronal damage and the disabilities caused by these diseases. At present, he has centered in the development of novel research protocols over the mechanisms of pain and the elaboration of diagnostic strategies for the timely diagnostic of it by employing new drugs that could improve the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic pain.

Dr. Qiang Ao received his M.D. degree from Dalian Medical University China (2003) and then received his Post-doctoral training in Tsinghua University. He served as an Associate Professor of neuroscience in Tsinghua Univerisity from 2007 till 2014. He also served as a Professor at the China Medical University (2014–2019), and is now a Professor in School of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, China. He has published more than 100 papers in SCI Journals, including Biomaterials, Brain Stimulation, Acta Biomaterialia. His current research interests include the biomaterials and stem cells related regeneration and reconstruction of peripheral and central nervous system.

Celia Regina Carlini holds a degree in Biological Sciences - Medical Modality from the Federal University of São Paulo (1978), a master's degree (1981) and a doctorate (1985), both in Molecular Biology - Protein Chemistry from the Federal University of São Paulo (1985), Brazil. From 1993 to 1995 she pereformed postdoctoral studies at the Center for Insect Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ, USA. She was associate professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1983-1997) and full professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1997-2012). She is currently Associate Professor at the School of Medicine and principal investigator at the Brain Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), in the city of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. She is a Full Member (C. Biologicas) of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (elected in 2009).

Jiachun Feng received his Ph.D. degree from Bethune University of Medical Sciences, China in 1994. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada from 2004 till 2005. He is Director of the Department of Neurology, the First Bethune Hospital, Jilin University. Dr. Feng is an Associate Editor of “Journal of Apoplexy and Nervous Diseases” and “Medical information - Neurology channel” whereas he is in the Editorial Board of the “Chinese Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases” and “Chinese Journal of Stroke.” Besides, he has published several articles in well-reputed journals.

Dr. Martin Frasch is affiliated with the Center on Human Development and Disability (CHDD) and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the School of Medicine at The University of Washington in Seattle, USA. He conducts research on human brain programming through theoretical, in silico, animal-model based in vivo and in vitro as well as human/clinical studies. Martin is passionate about improving the health outcomes of pregnant mothers and their babies by monitoring their health non-invasively using different biosensors and providing actionable information to parents and health practitioners. Martin's research shows that these technologies may reliably predict the risk for perinatal brain injury, allowing more individualized pregnancy, labor, and postnatal health management to optimize the individual brain developmental trajectories. For more information visit the lab's website: https://fraschlab.org

Dr. Amgad Hanna obtained his M.B.B. Ch (Medical Bachelor & Bachelor of Chirurgie) in 1990 from Cairo University, Egypt, and then his D.I.S (Inter-university Diploma of specialization) in Neurosurgery in 1999 from University of Rennes I, France. He is currently Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, in the Department of Neurosurgical Surgery, at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Dr. Hanna specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to the spine and [peripheral nerves. Additionally, he has experience in complex spine surgery, treatment of intradural tumors, and minimally invasive spine surgery and kyphoplasty. Dr. Hanna has published over 35 articles in various journals of international repute.

Runming Jin obtained his M.D. in 1984 and Ph. D. of Pediatrics in 1995 from Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China. He received his postdoctoral training in Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. He is currently a full professor and the head of pediatric department of Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. And he also severs as the chairman of Hubei Pediatric Association. Professor Jin is the principal investigator of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and many other researches. He is in the editorial board of many prestigious journals in China. He has published more than 200 academic papers, and is the editor of a number of pediatric teaching materials and reference books. He is focused on blood cancers, inherited and metabolic diseases in pediatrics. The central nervous system involvement in pediatric cancers is one of his research areas.

Woon-Man Kung received his M.D. degree from the School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University (TMU), Taipei, Taiwan in 1999. In 2012, he received his M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Kung now serves as a Consultant Neurosurgeon in the Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital (TCH), Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan, as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Health Promotion, College of Kinesiology and Health, Chinese Culture University (CCU), Taipei, Taiwan. He further participates as an International Member of the professional association at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), as a Board Member of Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and World Journal of Clinical Cases. Furthermore, he is in the Topic Editorial Board of Brain Sciences. Additionally, he also serves as a Guest Associate Editor for Frontiers in Oncology, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Frontiers in Plant Science, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, and Frontiers in Genetics. He has also been the Lead Guest Editor for Molecular Imaging and Behavioural Neurology, and acted as an ad-hoc reviewer for a number of prestigious scientific journals.

Dr. Cheng Luo obtained a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineer from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Currently Dr. Luo is a full Professor in school of life science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. In 20 years of professional experience, he has significantly contributed to the teaching and training of Neuroimage graduate and studying in therapeutic need Neuroimage. His current research focuses on the methodological development of multi-modal neuroimages and clinical applications. Dr. Luo remained the member of CSBME, OHBM and ISMRM and editorial member of 5 journals. He has over 100 peer- reviewed scientific publications which have received > 3000 citations (h-index = 29). Research Interest: Brain Connectivity, MRI, simultaneous EEG and fMRI, Neurological and mental disease includes: Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, AD.

Dr. Anna B. Moszczynska is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University. Detroit, MI, USA. She received her PhD in Neurochemistry. Institute of Medical Science, School of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. Her current research focuses on the discovery of novel molecular and epigenetic drug targets to attenuate methamphetamine (METH) abuse in heavy users of the drug. Her primary research interest is parkin and proteasome, two components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, as drug targets in MUD whereas her secondary research interest lies in transposable elements (rat LINE-1 an Identifier element) and their role in mediating METH neurotoxicity. Moreover, she has published several articles in well-reputed national/international journals.

Seyed Mohammad Nabavi is a biotechnologist and senior scientist of Applied Biotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science and a member of Iran's National Elites Foundation. His research focuses on the molecular pharmacology of natural products. He is author/co-author of 250 publications in international journals, 51 communications at national and international congress, and six chapters in book series. Seyed Mohammad Nabavi has been selected as a group of scientists recognized as Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics, 2018.

María de la Luz Navarro Angulo is currently a Full Professor at the Facultad de Medicina. Depto. de Fisiología, UNAM, Mexico. He received his Ph. D. in Physiological Sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. UACPyP- Center for Neurobiology. México. His research interests include molecular aspects of sleep and memory, diurnal variations in neuroprotection, and participation of the cannabinergic system in the development of the metabolic syndrome. He has published 44 original research articles, 1 review articles, 3 disseminations and 11 book chapters in several national/ international journals.

Dr. Hellen A. Oketch-Rabah is a Pharmacognosist and practicing Senior Toxicologist. Currently she is the Senior Manager & Senior Scientific Liaison at the United States Pharmacopoeia in the Department of Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines. She leads the front end of USP/NF monograph development activities that determine the nomenclature and admission of dietary supplements ingredients for monograph development. Before joining USP, Dr. Oketch-Rabah was the Principal Scientist at Herb Pharm Inc. an FDA inspected dietary supplement manufacturing facility in Oregon, USA. Prior to that she was a research scientist at the prestigious Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley California, USA doing research on natural products and breast cancer biology. Earlier in her career Dr Oketch-Rabah was a senior lecturer of Pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi (UoN) in Kenya. During her tenure at the UoN she secured research grants from various organizations including IFS, DFG and World Health Organization (WHO) and she established a Pharmacognosy Research Laboratory at the UoN to perform Research and Development of Botanical Antimalarials. Dr. Oketch-R received her Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy/Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy in Denmark; a B.Ed (Sc) and MSc (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry) from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Oketch-Rabah has presented at more than 50 scientific conferences, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, written 2 book chapters, and was one of the scientists interviewed in the documentary on herbal medicines- “Numen the Nature of Plants”. Hellen is an active member of the Society of Toxicology and American Society of Pharmacognosy and a reviewer for a number of Journals including Nutrition Journal, PLoS ONE, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Phytotherapy Research. She is currently an Executive Guest Editor for Current Neuropharmacology and is on the Editorial board of the Journal of Modern Medicinal Chemistry (JMMC).

Dr. Asher Ornoy Graduated at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. He is Training in Pediatrics and in Pediatric Neurology and Child Development in Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem. Teratology training in Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio and at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA. He is the Author of about 400 peer reviewed publications, about 300 abstracts and 6 scientific books. His Research focuses on child development and on animal models of congenital malformations and neurodevelopmental disorders. He also acted as Professor Emeritus of Anatomy, Embryology, Teratology and Medical Neurobiology at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem. Currently He is a Professor and the head of Morphological Sciences and Teratology, Adelson School of Medicine, Ariel University, Israel.

Dr. Panizzutti’s main research interest and expertise is to translate neuroscience findings into diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. He holds a permanent faculty position at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and have participated as a Principal Investigator on several national and internationally funded research. He has successfully administered the operations and resources of research projects (e.g. staffing, research conducts, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced many peer-reviewed publications. As a result of these previous experiences, He is aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and sound project management from timelines, to resources, and funding. He has a broad background in neuroscience and psychiatry and demonstrated execution and implementation of successful and productive projects in the fields of translational medicine /health. He has the expertise, leadership and motivation necessary to successfully consult on project design and application.

Dr. Fabiola M. Ribero is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She received her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology, UFMG, Brazil. Following her PhD, she went on for her post-doctorate studies at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Dr. Ribeiro’s research focuses mainly on investigating the cellular and molecular neurobiochemical mechanisms inherent to Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, she opened new research lines encompassing the neuroimmunomodulatory aspects of Schizophrenia and Zika virus infection effects into brain tissue. Dr. Ribeiro has published several scientific articles in journals of international repute.

Dr. Luciana Scotti received her Ph.D. in Cosmetology and Molecular Modeling at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She did 3 years of Post-Doctorate in Pharmaceuticals at the Laboratory of Planning and Synthesis of Potentially Active Chemotherapies in Tropical Endemics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USP. She has experience in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Molecular acting mainly in the following areas: natural products, Molecular Modeling, QSAR, and Chemometrics. She is the professor of the Post-Graduate Program of Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products of the Federal University of Paraíba, Brazil.

Prof. Yuan Shi graduated from Third Military Medical University and Chongqing Medical University, \ and obtained MD and PhD degree respectively. Major research work by Prof. Yuan Shi and his group are on neonatal respiratory diseases and brain injury. He is the chief of Department of Neonatology with 300 neonatal beds, Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University. In 2019, this department admitted over 12,000 newborn infants, which is indicated to have the biggest neonatal patient numbers in China. Prof. Yuan Shi has published a few scientific articles in some important scientific journals including Pediatrics, Chest, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, Archives of Disease in Childhood, and Neonatology. Prof. Yuan Shi serves as associate editor for BMC Pediatrics, section editor for Current Neuropharmacology, guest editor for Frontiers in Pediatrics and CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets.

Prof. Tsang is a Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He was also appointed Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Rehabilitation in 2018. Prof. Tsang’s research focuses on neuropsychiatric rehabilitation for people with severe mental illness (SMI) and integrative medicine over the past two decades. He has altogether secured more than 70 million research grants and more than academic 200 publications. Prof. Tsang currently works as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychiatry and Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, and he was the Associate Editor of American Journal of Occupational Therapy for seven years. He also served as guest editors and reviews of many high-quality journals, such as Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, BMC Medicine and Current Neuropharmacology.

Dr Claudio Viegas Jr. received his PhD Thesis on Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry (2003) and a Postdoctoral period (2003-2006) in Medicinal Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry of the State University of São Paulo. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry of the Federal University of Alfenas. Dr Viegas-Jr. is a fellow of the Brazilian Society of Chemistry and member of the Research Staff of National Institute of Science and Technology for Drugs and Medicines’ Program. His research interests include the design, synthesis and evaluation of innovative drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease), CNS disorders (schizophrenia, epilepsy), neglected diseases (leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis), neuropathic and central pain and inflammation. Dr Viegas-Jr. has published over 65 peer-reviewed manuscripts and reviewed several articles in these areas.

Qiang Wang obtained a PhD in Psychiatric Genetics from Mental Health Center, Faculty of Medicine, West China, University of Medical Sciences, P.R. China. Currently, he is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers in several well-reputed journals. He has won several awards such as Academic and Technical Leader and Reserve Talent of Sichuan Province, Academic Leader and Reserve Talent, Health Commission of Sichuan Province, High-Level Overseas Talent of Sichuan Province, Outstanding Medical Worker for 2013-2014, Sichuan University, and Advanced Individual for 2013, West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Besides, he is an Editor of the journals like PloS One, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and JSM schizophrenia whereas a Reviewer of the journals including Schizophrenia Bulletin, Translational Psychiatry, Scientific Reports, American Journal of medical genetics(neuropsychiatry), PloS One, Frontiers in genetics, Schizophrenia Research, and BMC Psychiatry.

Dr. Yu Feng Wang received MD. & Ph.D. (Neurobiology) from Fukui Medical University (now University of Fukui Faculty of Medicine), Fukui, Japan in 1993-1997. Currently, he is a Professor of Physiology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. Dr. Wang has been the Editor of Translational Biomedicine, Mathews Journal of Neurology, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience and a Guest Associate Editor in Frontiers in Neuroscience and Frontiers in Endocrinology. Also, he has published more than 30 articles in well-reputed journals.

Dr. Wang XP is a Professor and Director of Neurology St. Luke Hospital at Shanghai JiaoTong University Medical School. He serves as the consultant expert at Shanghai International Medical Center. His clinical practice and research interests focus on movement disorders, neuro-degeneration, Wilson disease, sleep medicine, neuro-psychiatry, cognition, and Traditional Chinese medicine. He participates in invited review by the National Natural Foundation of China, journal Lancet/Lancet Neurology, Curr Neuropharmal, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, CMJ, Chin J Neurol. He has been appointed as MDS-AOS Leadership: Officer and Executive Member Since Sept. 2019. His research has been funded by the National Natural Foundation of China three times plus the International Cooperation program, and Shanghai JiaoTong University Medical School Brain Innovation Plan 2015.

Haiyan Wu is an Associate Professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, China. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. She has published more than 30 articles in well-reputed journals. She is also a reviewer of many journals like Neuroimage; Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; Neuroimaging: clinical; Psychophysiology; Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience; and IEEE’s Transactions on Affective Computing.

Dr Weilin Xu is working as a Neurosurgeon in the Second affiliated hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China. He was a PhD student in Neurosurgery at the Zhejiang University, China and obtained M.D. in Neurosurgery from the PLA general hospital, Beijing, China. He has published more than 30 papers in distinguished journals.

Professor Chuntao Yang received his M.D. in Pathology and Pathophysiology from Sun Yat-sen University, China. He did postdoctoral training on Chemistry in Washington State University, US. In July 2011, he joined the faculty at Guangzhou Medical University. The core of his research interests comprises the discovering of therapeutic targets related to diabetic complications and cancer, through bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry and cellular biology. His area of research is to explore the significance of hydrogen sulfide and its related modification of biomacromolecules in metabolic diseases and cancer.

Dr. John H. Zhang, MD, PhD, F.A.H.A. is currently a professor in Neurosurgery and Physiology at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He has Edited 24 stroke & CNS disorder related books, Guest edited more than 25 special journal issues on stroke research, published more than 400 original articles, and did more than 250 invited presentations. Dr. Zhang’s research interests are cerebral vascular biology and cerebral vascular diseases, including ischemia and hemorrhage, and he has proposed the concept of early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage and vascular neural network concept for cerebral circulation.

Dr Cheng Zhou is an Associate Professor at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University. His research interests include Pharmacology of anaesthetics and analgesics and have published over 60 articles in this field. He completed his PhD in 2013 and is a scientific member of Society of Neuroscience, The New York Academy of Science, Chinese Society of Anesthesiologists and Chinese Society of Pharmacology. His other research interests involve the study of Neuroscience, Ion channels, Anesthetic mechanisms and Pharmacology.

Dr. Hu received her M.D. degree in Clinical Medicine from Wuhan University (Hubei, China) in 2002, and Ph.D. degree in Anatomy and Embryology from Peking University (Beijing, China) in 2010. During 2010 to 2012, she worked as a lecturer in the department of Anatomy and Embryology in Capital Medical University (Beijing, China). In 2012, she joined Dr. John H. Zhang’s neuroscience lab as a postdoctoral research fellow and Lab Manager in Loma Linda University (California, USA). In the year of 2015, Dr. Hu went back to China and worked in Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine as an associate professor (Shanghai, China). Recently, she moved to Renji Hospital South Campus as the Head of Central Laboratory.

Dr. Khan is the Full Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM), Pakistan. In 20 years of his professional experience, he has significantly contributed to the teaching and training of pharmacy graduates and pharmacy-related services. Dr. Khan remained a member of AWKUM syndicate, executive member of the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan KP and editorial member of more than 15 journals. He is the author of 226 articles including editorial, review, research and four books including one by Elsevier. Moreover, several post-graduate scholars are working under his supervision.

Dr. Sanchez is a full professor and researcher at the Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Salud (I 3 S), Universidad Central de Chile (CHILE). He was professor and researcher at the University of Chile (CHILE) and University of Santiago de Compostela (USC, SPAIN), wherein he follows as associate researcher at the Faculty of Pharmacy (USC) in the field of Natural Products against CNS diseases, drug delivery systems and parasitology. From these research lines, there have been generated more than 80 scientific articles of high impact index in the field of the Chemistry, Pharmacy and Nanotechnology compiled in several journals.. At the present time, he is an international referee of research projects in the fields of Biomedicine, in Argentina and Chile (FONCYT and FONDECYT, respectively), and Spain for the National Agency of Evaluation and Prospective (ANEP). He is Editor / Editorial Board member of the following journals; Molecules, ARKIVOC, International Journal of Nanomedicine and Journal of Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology. Thus, two main research lines can be described; 1) Synthesis of compounds from natural sources or synthetic ways with pharmacological activity (Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer, depression), and parasitic diseases (Malaria, Leishmania) and; 2) Synthesis of supramolecular system derived from natural polymers for the drugs delivery in the living organism (Nanovaccines).