El Dr. Agustin Ruiz Laza es actualmente Director de Investigación de la Fundació ACE. Insitut Català dE Neurociències Aplicades (Barcelona, España). Nació en Utrera, Sevilla, España (10 de agosto de 1969). Licenciado en Medicina y Cirugía y Doctor en Biología Molecular y Celular por la Universidad de Sevilla. Durante ocho años realizó trabajos de investigación en el Departamento de Genética Médica y Diagnóstico Prenatal del Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla (1993-2001). Allí recibió el Premio de Doctorado Extraordinario en la Universidad de Sevilla (2000) por su tesis. Luego co-promovió y co-fundó varias compañías de biotecnología recibiendo premios a la mejor Idea de Negocio 50K y Mejor Plan de Negocios en el campo de la Biotecnología, el Instituto Internacional San Telmo. El resultado de esta actividad con sus socios recibió el premio a la excelencia empresarial en el área de Innovación 2008 de la Junta de Andalucía.

Agustin Ruiz ha publicado 139 artículos en revistas indexadas como JAMA, American Journal of Human Genetics, Lancet Neurology, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Alzheimer & Dementia, Molecular Psychiatry, Nature o Nature Genetics, entre otras. Es coautor de diversas patentes relacionadas con el diagnóstico molecular de enfermedades complejas y herramientas bioinformáticas para la investigación genómica. Ha recibido fondos para 37 proyectos otorgados por agencias competitivas regionales, nacionales y europeas. Participó en la redacción de varios capítulos de libros científicos y reseñas en revistas nacionales. Es revisor de proyectos de la Comisión Europea y forma parte de los paneles de revisión científica de proyectos en varios países europeos y revistas indexadas. Su interés científico se centra en la aplicación de las tecnologías genómicas en la medicina. Ha participado en la identificación de numerosos factores genéticos relacionados con diferentes enfermedades humanas, incluyendo la identificación de varios genes asociados con la enfermedad de Alzheimer.

Dr. Richard Mayeux is the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry and Epidemiology, chair of the Department of Neurology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Neurologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Mayeux is also director of the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, a center devoted to the epidemiologic investigation of neurological diseases, and co-director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Mayeux graduated with distinction from the University Of Oklahoma School Of Health Sciences and trained in Internal Medicine at the Boston City Hospital and in Neurology at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He completed a fellowship in the study of disorders of behavior, language, and cognition with the late D.Frank Benson in Boston. Dr. Mayeux completed graduate work in epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Mayeux has led a multidisciplinary, population-based investigation of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders known as the Washington Heights-Inwood Community Aging Project (WHICAP) since 1989. Utilizing this WHICAP population, he and his colleagues were among the first to integrate genetic risk factors and epidemiological principles in an attempt to identify biological markers of susceptibility to degenerative diseases of the aging nervous system. He has been the author of over 350 papers, chapters, and books dealing with various aspects of Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases of the aging brain. Dr. Mayeux has been the Robert Aird Visiting Professor at the University of California at San Francisco, the Emanuel Goldberg Visiting Professor at the University of Rochester, and the J.L. Silversides Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto. He was the recipient of the Columbia University Dean's Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award, and received the Rita Hayworth Award from the Alzheimer's Association. Dr. Mayeux is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the New York Academy of Science, a member of the American Neurological Association and the Association of American Physicians. He is also a member of the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the Society for Neuroscience. He has served as a member of the Aging Review and the Epidemiology of Chronic Disorders Committees for the National Institutes of Health and the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board for the Alzheimer's Association. In 2001, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. He has received the 2007 Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology, the 2008 John Stearns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine from the New York Academy of Medicine, and the 2009 Henry Wisniewski Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer's Disease Research from the Alzheimer's Association. Dr. Mayeux has led an epidemiological investigation of Alzheimer's disease and related conditions known as the Washington Heights-Inwood Community Aging Project over a period of 18 years. He studies the rates and risk factors for Alzheimer' disease among elderly of mainly African-American and Caribbean Hispanic descent. Dr. Mayeux also directs a genetic study of Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic families. He has completed two full genome-wide scans in these families and is working to fine map regions of interest. He recently identified genetic variants in the sortilin-related receptor, SORL1, related to Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Mayeux is the coordinating investigator for the National Institute on Aging Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease Family Study. This study began in 2002 with the goal of identifying 1,000 families multiply affected by Alzheimer's disease. Most recently, he is the lead investigator in a collaborative study of families that display exceptional survival and longevity.

Durval Campos Costa, MD, MSc, PhD, FRCR is the Director of the Nuclear Medicine-Radiopharamacology Unit at Champalimaud Clinical Centre, Champalimaud Foundation. In addition to his work at the clinic, he also holds or held several national and international positions such as (the most recent) President of the Executive Committee of Section and European Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists (mandate 2012 – 2015). Durval has more than 30 years’ experience in all diagnostic and therapeutic (outpatient and inpatient) activities in Nuclear Medicine. He has pioneered the introduction of new diagnostic radiopharmaceutical methodology in Psychiatry, Neurology and Cardiology, from 1985 to present, all with international recognition. These include markers of cerebral blood flow and dopamine metabolism within the Central Nervous System that he developed from basic research to clinical applications. In addition, he pioneered the introduction of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in Portugal in 2002. Furthermore, he was also at the forefront of the introduction of Cyclotron production of radiopharmaceuticals in Portugal (1st cyclotron installed in the district of Porto in 2005 starting production in 2009). Durval’s research interests include the development of new radiopharmaceuticals for clinical application, as well as new protocols for the investigation of disease physiopathology and its progression. He also extensively studies Functional Neuroimaging from basic research to clinical development of several radiolabeled markers. He also continues to implement basic research and clinical development of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET-CT in Oncology, Neurology and Cardiology.

Dr. Stephens is the Chief Medical Officer of Piramal Imaging.

He has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Beside his responsibilities for the approved beta-amyloid tracer NeuraCeq (florbetaben 18F), he oversees the clinical research and development activities of Piramal Imaging’s exploratory products in Neuroscience, Oncology and cardiovascular research. Previously, he was VP, Head Experimental Medicine Oncology/Diagnostic Imaging for Bayer Pharma. He has held positions of increasing responsibility at NeXagen/NeXstar, Gilead, Schering AG, and OSI Pharmaceuticals before joining Piramal Imaging.

He received his BA cum laude in chemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also received an MD with honors and a PhD in biochemistry, biophysics and genetics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Stephens is Board certified in Internal Medicine and had a clinical practice before entering pharmaceutical development.

Bryan A. Strange completed the M.B.–Ph.D. programme at University College London (UK) in 2004. His Ph.D., conducted at the Functional Imaging Laboratory, Institute of Neurology, London, under the supervision of Ray Dolan and Karl Friston, argued for a functional dissociation between the anterior and posterior hippocampus in humans. Subsequently, alongside clinical work in general medicine and neurology, he continued to study memory in humans, with particular focus on the effects of emotion on memory formation. He started his own laboratory in 2011, the Laboratory for Clinical Neuroscience, CTB-UPM, and in 2014 became Director of the Department of Neuroimaging, Reina Sofia Foundation Centre for Alzheimer’s Research, Madrid, Spain. His recent research has provided evidence for episodic memory reconsolidation in humans. His laboratory uses a multimodal approach to studying human medial temporal lobe function in healthy people and in patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Manuel Guzmán was born in Madrid (1963) and took his BSc (1986) and PhD (1990) in Biology from Madrid Complutense University. He is presently Full Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at that university. His PhD and postdoctoral research focused on the study of the regulation of liver and brain lipid metabolism. During the last dozen years he has been mostly involved in the study of how the active components of cannabis (the cannabinoids) act in the body, with especial emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of that action and on understanding how cannabinoids control cell generation and death. This work has allowed characterizing new effects and signalling pathways evoked by cannabinoids, as well as putting forward new physiopathological implications derived from them.

Vice-rector of Scientific Policy at the University of Barcelona (UB) and Director of the Doctoral School (UB). Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the UB and Head Researcher of the Molecular Neurobiology group at CIBERNED. PhD in Chemistry, specialization area in Biochemistry, from the UB. He has focused his research and specialization on the fields of Molecular Neurobiology, Theoretical Biochemistry and Nutrition Biochemistry. Membre of the Scientific Advisory Board of the ESERP Business School.

Prof. Jose A. Obeso, MD, PhD, is a neurologist and Director of the Research Center in Neurosciences HM CINAC. He graduated from the University of Navarra in 1976 and trained in neurology and neurophysiology in San Sebastian and Pamplona, Spain. From 1980 to 1982 he worked as research fellow in movement disorders under Professor C. David Marsden in London, which proved the most exciting and decisive period in his career. Prof. Obeso has been devoted to the care of patients with movement disorders, Parkinson's disease in particular, and both clinical and laboratory research. He has published more than 300 original papers and 95 reviews in peer review journals and contributed to 99 book chapters, mainly on the pathophysiology and treatment of dyskinesia and Parkinson's disease. His current H-index is 69, and he is co-editor in chief of the Movement Disorders Journal since 2010.

Degree in Psychology and Therapeutic Pedagogy from the University of Salamanca. Managing Director of National Reference Centre for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care’s, under the auspices of the Spanish Government.

Participant in the Joint Action 2014 initiative with the European Project CHAFEA 2014-2017 on models of social-health coordination in the care of people with dementias and Independent Assessor of Alzheimer Europe. Coordinator of the socio-health area at the "Global Alzheimer's Research Summit, Madrid 2011".

At present, professor of the Master's Degree in "Intervention to people with Alzheimer's disease" of the University of Salamanca. Responsible for research projects in the field of dementias, as well as collaborator in Guides, Publications and Technical Documents around this Disease.

Degree in Law from the University of Lisbon; Lawyer since 1987, specially dedicated to the legal rights of people with incapacity; Member of Alzheimer Portugal Board; Trainer on legal rights at Alzheimer Portugal; Member of Alzheimer Europe Board.

Doctor of Medicine from the University of Navarra. Dementia Scholarship in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Western Ontario under the direction of Professor Vladimir Hachinski. He has been an associate researcher in research projects on vascular dementia at the Hospital Virgen del Camino in Pamplona, among others.

Since 2010 he has been working as head of the Neurology area at the Center for Research and Advanced Therapies of the Fundación CITA - Alzheimer Fundazioa in San Sebastián. Member of the Spanish Society of Neurology and the International Society of Vascular Cognitive Disorder (Vas-Cog). Coordinator of the Study Group on Neurology of Conduct and Dementias of the Spanish Society of Neurology and Member of the Dementia Panel of the European Federation of Neurological Associations.

Constança Paúl is professor of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar - University of Porto (ICBAS-UPorto). She holds a degree in Psychology and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences, and works in the area of Geropsychology and Health Psychology. Currently she is the Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences, Director of the PhD Program in Gerontology and Geriatrics (University of Porto and University of Aveiro) and Director of the Office of Ageing Issues CA50+ of ICBAS, and the coordinator of the C.Ageing Group of CINTESIS. At international level she is the President of the division 7 of GeroPsychology of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the Portuguese representative for ageing issues of OPP in the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA), and coordinator of Caregivers subgroup of A3 Action Group on Frailty of the European Research Partnership active and Healthy Ageing EIP-AHA.

She has published 115 articles in international scientific journals, 13 book chapters and 9 books and she has worked with more than 150 co-authors in her professional activities.

Karin Palmlöf was born in Sweden and licensed in Agriculture Engineering at the Swedish University of Agriculture, Ultuna. After completing her master’s degree in landscaping at the Technical University of Madrid, Karin worked in Buxus2002 landscaping studio, focusing on unique projects for urban and residential landscaping. In 2015 Karin founded Jardines Terapeuticos Palmlöf, a Project that integrates universal design with a nature based therapeutic methodology.

Internist, geriatrician, and the newly appointed Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia IAnnovation at the Schlegel—University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging in Ontario, Canada. He is certified by Eden Alternative Educator, he is a member of its board of directors and an international pedagogue in the transformation of care models for the elderly.

He was appointed to the Scientific Committee of the Annual International Alzheimer's Conference in 2015. Dr. Poder worked in Italy with the Rockefeller Foundation (2012) on guidelines for the development of sustainable communities. He is an adviser to the Ibasho NGO of Dr. Emi Kiyota, a member of the board of directors of the Dementia Action Alliance and also an adviser to the Music and Memory project of Dementia Care Australia and the South Africa Care Forum.

National Secretary of the Union of Portuguese Mercy. The Union of Portuguese Mercy (UMP) was created in 1976 to guide, coordinate, energize and represent the Holy Mercy Houses, defending their interests and organizing services of common interest.

He also has activity with varied institutional partners, and throughout his almost 40 years of existence, he has been able to anticipate various social problems, proposing, in this sense, adequate and effective solutions.

Alexandre de Mendonça graduated at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, in 1982, obtained the title of Specialist in Neurology in 1991, the Ph.D. degree in Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Lisbon in 1995 and accomplished the Agregação degree in Medicine (Neurology) at the University of Lisbon in 2001. He is presently Investigador Coordenador at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon. His main scientific areas of research are the cognitive decline of ageing and the neurophysiological basis for memory. He participated and coordinated research projects on basic neurosciences as well as clinical trials in dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and is author of more than one hundred full publications in international journals subjected to peer review. He is member of the Scientific Committee of Associação de Familiares e Amigos de Doentes de Alzheimer, Scientific Committee of Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurologia, Comissão de Ética para a Investigação Clínica, Clinical Director of Memoclínica, and the coordinator of the Lisbon centre of the European Alzheimer´s Disease Consortium.

Director and Professor in the Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University, Canada, he has extensive research experience in the field of Environmental Gerontology. He has conducted research and consulting in areas such as: the physical environment for people with dementia in long-term care facilities, memories of home and self in dementia, community planning and urban design for active aging.

Dr. Chaudhury has more than 60 articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and monographs. He is also affiliated with the Center for Research on Personhood in Dementia at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and Alzheimer's Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. He received the Simon Fraser University Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014. Recently, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) awarded him Fellow status in the society.

Lawyer, Graduate in Criminology and Master in Spanish Public Administration, she was appointed director general of the Institute of Older and Social Services (Imserso) in November 2016.

She has been an advisor to the Ministers of Development and Health, the Secretary of State for Security and the Commissioner for the Catastrophe of the Prestige, managing director of the Agency of the Minor Infractor of the Community of Madrid, general secretary of Social Affairs of Castilla - La Mancha, general director of Dependency of the Community of Madrid and general secretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Community of Madrid.

Mercè Boada is founder and medical director of the ACE Foundation. Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades. She directed the Neurodegenerative Diseases Unit of the Neurology Service of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and was Head of the Alzheimer Research Group at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).

Coordinator of the "Model of Care for People with Dementia" of the Catalan National Health System, she was Technical Secretary of the Psychiatric Council of Catalonia (1996-2001), President of the Pharmaceutical Advisory Council for Alzheimer's Disease 1996-2001), member of Bioethics Committee of Catalonia and member of the Ministry of Health of the Consultative Board of the Government of Catalonia.

Professor at NOVA Medical School/Faculdade de Ciências Médicas-Universidade Nova de Lisboa, he is a psychiatrist and family therapist with a special interest in geriatric psychiatry and mental health (including old age liaison psychiatry) and behavioural medicine.

Alongside teaching and clinical activities, he is a researcher at the Chronic Diseases Research Centre (CEDOC, NMS/FCM-UNL), being involved in dementia-related research (e.g. the 10/66-DRG prevalence study in Portugal, the EU/JPND-Actifcare project, needs assessment and family intervention studies).

Author or co-author of peer-reviewed publications, scientific communications, books and book chapters, he recently co-edited ‘Neuropsychiatric symptoms in cognitive impairment and dementia’ (2017) and is a member of INTERDEM (the European network of dementia care researchers), the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA), the Portuguese Psychogeriatric Association (APG) and the Portuguese Family Therapy Society (SPTF).

Scientific Director of the Matía Foundation Gerontological Institute and Director of the Study of Prevalence of ill-treatment among people over 60 in the Basque Country. Immersed in different projects and studies of aging among which stand out Active Ageing Index Project (Calculus for Euskadi).

Study-Diagnosis of the city of San Sebastián, for inclusion in the World Network "Age Friendly Cities", coordinated by the WHO or The document "100 proposals to improve the well-being and good treatment of aging people" of the Basque Government.

Her research work has led him to live different pilot experiences in residences of elderly people and experience Etxean Ondo homes in Guipúzcoa and Álava.

Specialist in Psychiatry and Specialist Psychologist in Clinical Psychology. Doctorate in Neurosciences by the University of Málaga. For more than twenty-five years he has lived and worked in Málaga where he has developed his clinical, teaching and research activity.

Dr. García-Alberca works as Scientific Director at the Andalusian Institute of Neuroscience (IANEC), considered as an institution of reference in Spain in the investigation, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. In turn, he is a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Málaga, where he teaches at the same time as he participates in the Doctoral Programs in Neurosciences of said University. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Cadiz where he teaches postgraduate university education.

He is a member of the research group attached to the Cognitive Neurophysiology Unit of the Medical-Sanitary Research Center (CIMES) of the University of Málaga. He has published numerous original articles of investigation in magazines of impact of international scope. He is also the president of the organizing committee of one of the most important congresses dedicated to dementia in our country, such as the Malaga Alzheimer Conference.

Director of the Center for Alzheimer's Policy and Practice since 2013 and Professor of Gerontological Nursing and Researcher at the Interdisciplinary Group of the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of the West of Scotland.

A leading nurse with an international reputation, her contribution in research with seniors was recognized in 2010 by the University of St Louis (USA) through the Medical School with the Jim Flood Memorial Alzheimer Disease Distinguished Lectureship Award.

She is a member of the Royal College of Nursing UK and an honorary member of the Queen's Nursing Institute. She received the 2007 Sigma Theta Tau International Award for Best of Visions on Evidence-Based Nursing. With more than 100 research articles reviewed, she is national and international advisor for nurses and patients.

Graduated in Law from the Portuguese Catholic University. Graduated in Psychology and completed a Masters in Clinical Neuropsychology applied to the elderly by the "Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies" Lisbon.

Currently she works as a neuropsychologist and coordinator of the Cuidar Melhor project, aimed at supporting caregivers of people with dementia, an initiative carried out by the Alzheimer Portugal Association in collaboration with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Montepío Foundation and the Instituto de Ciências da Saúde UCP and of which the Memory Café project is part. This project aims to contribute to the inclusion and promotion of the rights of people with dementia, as well as the valorization and support of family members and professionals who provide care. One of its objectives is to develop and adapt the concept of Memory Café in Portugal.

The ALZHEIMER PORTUGAL held recently elections for its new national bodies for the period 2017 – 2020.

José Carreira, 40, was elected as President (Chairman?) of the Board of Directors.

In spite of having been a teacher (graduated in Portuguese and History from the Portuguese Catholic University), he has dedicated the last years to social area issues, including minorities and citizenship, being a specialist in social organizations administration.

Interested in dementia issues, he got a Master degree on Intervención a Personas con Enfermedad de Alzheimer (Intervention for persons suffering from AD) from the Medicine College of Salamanca University.

He has also got a specialization in Social Organisations Management from the AESE Business School and a Master degree on Social Work (from Fernando Pessoa University in Oporto). Currently, he is the President of a Solidarity Institution board of directors and the pedagogic coordinator of some social responses for child care, being also working on human resources administration and coordination.

José Carreira is from Viseu, where he created a centre for helping Alzheimer patients, coordinates the project Memory Caffe and has organised the annual Memory Walk.

He has been involved in the organization of conferences, workshops and seminars, the last one having been the II Seminario Internacional Alzheimer – IPV with participants from 5 different countries.

Charles Scerri received his doctorate in 2004 from the University of Dundee, Scotland, and currently teaches neuropharmacology at the University of Malta. He is co-founder and general secretary of the Dementia Society of Malta, former Honorary Secretary and current Alzheimer's Vice-President of Europe and member of the Alzheimer's Mediterranean Alliance.

He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of JPND and INTERDEM. In July 2013, he was appointed National Focal Point on Dementia in Malta. Recent publications include the national strategy paper on dementia: "Empowering change: a national strategy for dementia in the Maltese islands (2015-2023)".

Psychiatrist, head of the psychiatric service of the Hospital Medical Career, Groupanalyst and Psychoanalyst. Professor of mental health and psychiatry at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (Universidade Nova Lisboa).

He was National Coordinator for Mental Health and Director of Health Services of the DGS, where he collaborated with the Integrated Support Program for Elderly - PAII in the structuring of a "Regulatory Guidelines for coordinated interventions of social support and continuous care directed to Persons in a situation of dependency ", aimed at people in situations of physical, mental or social dependence.

Since 2010 he is responsible for the coordination team of the Project on Integrated Continuing Care of Mental Health and since 2013 coordinates the creation of the National Action Plan on Dementias of Portugal.

Bachelor of Philosophy and Educational Sciences, he has developed his professional activity in non-profit organizations performing different functions of responsibility. Currently, since 2005, he is the Executive Director of the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Relatives of People with Alzheimer's and other Dementias CEAFA, entity that groups more than 300 Associations whose raison d'être is to improve the quality of life of those who live together With Alzheimer's disease.

Working and collaborating directly with the Board of Governors of the entity, he has supported the development of the different strategic plans of the organization that are enabling CEAFA to be positioned as a reference entity to the Central Government within the framework of the definition of the Policy Of Alzheimer's disease.

Member of the Board of Alzheimer Europe and Alzheimer Latin America. At present, member of the coordination committee of the dementia group, responsible for the development of the national Alzheimer's plan in Spain.

Ph.D. and Chief Senior Research Scientist, Human Informatics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) & Professor School of Computing, Tokyo Institute of Technology & Visiting Fellow The AgeLab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Prof. Takanori Shibata was born in 1967 and received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Electronic and Mechanical Engineering from Nagoya University in 89, 91 and 92, respectively. He was a research scientist at AIST from 93 to 98. Concurrently, he was a visiting research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Lab., Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 95 to 98, and a visiting research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Lab., Univ. of Zurich in 96. At the AIST, Dr. Shibata was a senior research scientist from 98 to 13. Concurrently, he was the Deputy Director for Information and Communication Technology Policy, Bureau of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan from 09 to 10. Since 2013, he has been the current positions. His research interests include human-robot interaction, robot therapy, mental health for astronauts in long-term mission (e.g. to Mars), and humanitarian de-mining. He was certified as the inventor of a seal robot named PARO, the World’s Most Therapeutic Robot, by Guinness World Records in 2002. He has received many awards including the Robot of the Year by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan in 2006, The Outstanding Young Person (TOYP) of the world by Junior Chamber International (JCI) in 2004, and the Japanese Prime Minister’s Award in 2003. In 2015, PARO was awarded the “Patient Trophy” as innovation of non-pharmacological therapy for dementia by the AP-HP (Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris), France, that is one of the largest medical group in the World.

Degree in Medicine by the University of Coimbra, 1984. Doctorate in Neurology by the University of Coimbra. She is Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra and Coordinator of the Dementia Consultation of the Hospitals of the University of Coimbra and responsible for the Laboratory of Superior Nervous Functions. She is a researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra.

Her main areas of research and, based on which he publishes research articles, are: Alzheimer's disease, dementia, neuropsychology and epilepsy.

Social Worker, university master in Intervention with People with Alzheimer's, Animal assisted therapy technician, assistance dog trainer. Elisa Pérez is responsible for the program of Animal assisted intervention in CRE Alzheimer's of IMSERSO in Salamanca.

Author of the Guide: Dog-Assisted intervention in Persons with Dementia and Principal Investigator in the Studies: 'Effects of Dog-Assisted Intervention on Psychological and Behavioral Symptoms in Dementias','Effects of Dog-Assisted Intervention on Behavior Social and emotion','Effects of dog-assisted intervention on apathy, depression and QOL in PWD and 'Comparison of responses to a robotic stimulus (PARO) and a dog in people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias’.

Aimee Spector is a PhD in Clinical Health Psychology at University College London. Expert in Clinical Psychology of older people, psychological therapies and quality of life in dementia.

Dr. Spector originally developed Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) for people with dementia. She coordinates the International Center CST and develops the CST training course, having trained more than 2000 people in CST.

She has authored numerous academic publications on CST and four CST training manuals. She has continued to supervise academic research on CST and other psychosocial interventions for dementia, as well as Cognitive Behavior Therapy. She works in the Department of Clinical, Pedagogical and Health Psychology (University College London).

Albino Oliveira-Maia obtained the title of doctor in the University of Porto and the doctorate in Neuroscience, developed in the University of Duke, under the supervision of the professors Miguel Nicolelis and Sidney Simon. After returning to Portugal, Albino graduated in Adult Psychiatry from the University Department of Psychiatry at the NOVA School of Medicine in Lisbon.

During his residency, he devoted himself to postdoctoral training in the Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, under the supervision of Professor Rui Costa, and completed a Master's degree in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston with Professor Álvaro Pascual-Leone. He currently coordinates the Neuropsychiatry Unit of the Clinical Center of Champalimaud and is a Psychiatrist and Visiting Professor of Psychiatry in the University Department of Psychiatry of the NOVA School of Medicine.

Vladimir Hachinski, CM O(Ont) MD DSc FRCPC FRSC Doctor honoris causaX4 Distinguished University Professor of Neurology Western University, Canada, earned an MD from the University of Toronto and trained in neurology and research in Montreal, Toronto, London, U.K. and Copenhagen.

His main interests include the relationship between cerebrovascular and Alzheimer disease and the joint prevention of stroke and dementia. The research involves converging experimental, clinical and epidemiological approaches. A complementary interest is brain heart interactions and outcomes, including sudden death.

He and his colleagues, in a whole population study, showed a decrease in the incidence of dementia concomitant with a decrease in the incidence of stroke. Based on this and other data, all the major organizations dealing with stroke and dementia have endorsed a Proclamation calling for the joint prevention of stroke and dementia.

He has authored, co-authored or co-edited 17 books and over 700 publications and has been cited over 34,000 times and has a Hirsch Index of 85 (Web of Science). He was Editor-in-Chief of STROKE for an unprecedented 10 years, President of the World Federation of Neurology and Founder of the World Brain Alliance.

Kenneth S. Kosik completed a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from Case Western Reserve University in 1972 and an M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1976. He served as a resident in neurology at Tufts New England Medical Center and was Chief Resident there in 1980. Beginning in 1980 he held a series of academic appointments at the Harvard Medical School and achieved the rank of full professor there in 1996. He also held appointments at McLean Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In 2004, Kosik became the Harriman Professor of Neuroscience Research and Co-Director of the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He founded and serves as Medical Director of the non-profit center, Cottage Center for Brain Fitness (CCBF).

The Kosik lab intends to create an intellectual setting conducive to the exploration of fundamental biological processes, particularly those related to the brain and its evolution. Although the approach is largely reductionist with an emphasis on genes, molecules and cells, studies in the lab also encompass systems level informatic approaches that include large genomic and transcriptional and imaging data sets. One theme in the lab is how cells acquire and lose their identities. A specialized case of altered cellular identity is synaptic plasticity. The lab is interested in the underlying molecular basis of plasticity, particularly how protein translation at the synapse affects learning and how impairments of plasticity lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Behind all the lab projects stands the overarching principle succinctly stated by Theodosius Dobzhansky, "Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution."

Professor Sangram S. Sisodia is the Director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Chicago. Over the past 20 years, his laboratory has focused on examining the cellular and molecular biology of the b-amyloid precursor protein (APP), or presenilins (PS1 and PS2), molecules that are mutated in pedigrees with autosomal dominant, familial forms of Alzheimer's disease (FAD). The function(s) of APP in the central nervous system (CNS) are still not fully understood, but we have demonstrated that APP is subject to rapid anterograde axonal transport and subject to proteolytic processing at, or near, terminal fields. In collaboration with Robert Malinow at UCSD, we have also shown that synaptic activity modulates APP processing and Ab production, and that both axonal and dendritic release of these peptides alter spine dynamics and glutamatergic neurotransmission. Our current efforts are focused on clarifying the dynamics and regulation of APP trafficking and processing cultured neurons and hippocampal slices using recombinant lentiviral-driven APP-GFP chimeras and live cell imaging approaches. In order to assess the normal function of PS, we have used gene targeting strategies; PS1-deficient animals die in late embryogenesis due to defective Notch signaling that is in large part, the result of failed intramembranous, “g-secretase” processing of a membrane-bound Notch substrates. This “g-secretase” activity is also responsible for liberating Ab peptides from membrane-bound APP derivatives. We, and others, have provided genetic and biochemical evidence has revealed that PS associates with nicastrin (NCT), APH-1 and PEN-2 in high molecular weight complexes, and our current efforts are aimed at understanding the temporal assembly of these membrane proteins, the nature of subunit interactions and the enzymatic mechanism(s) by which the complex promotes “g-secretase” processing of Notch, APP and other type 1 membrane proteins. A significant effort of our laboratory has been to develop and characterize transgenic animals that express FAD-linked variants of PS1 and APP to clarify the underlying biochemical and pathophysiological alterations that cause AD. We have exploited these animals, as well as animals in which we have conditionally inactivated PS, to clarify issues relevant to axonal trafficking of membrane proteins, neurodegeneration, neuronal vulnerability, gene expression and APP/Ab metabolism. A significant effort in our laboratory is focused on understanding the cell non-autonomous effects of FAD-linked mutant PS1 expression on hippocampal neurogenesis. Our future studies will focus heavily on the mechanisms that are responsible for the observed effects using temporal and system-specific conditional gene inactivation approaches. Extending our demonstration that enriched environments and exercise modulates Ab metabolism and deposition in vivo, our ongoing efforts are focused on the role of polypeptides encoded by genes that are selectively regulated in these settings. Finally, we have been exploring the impact of the microbiome in modulation of amyloid deposition in mouse models of AD.

In summary, his research program is designed to integrate genetic, neurobiologic, molecular and cellular information to clarify the normal biology of APP and PS and the mechanisms by which mutant genes cause AD. The value of animal models that recapitulate some features of the human disease have, and will be of enormous value for addressing issues relevant to the selective vulnerability of specific CNS systems, the pathophysiological sequelae and ultimately, will provide opportunities to explore mechanism-based therapeutic strategies.

Professor Tsai is a leader in understanding the molecular pathophysiology of neurological disorders affecting cognition. Her work has brought new mechanisms for learning, memory and neurodegeneration to light and suggests new paths for combatting age-related memory loss. Landmark discoveries include pinpointing major genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease to immune genes, identifying chromatin-modifiers and kinases that regulate brain flexibility and can be targeted to improve cognition in Alzheimer’s disease, and discovering that genomic integrity is critical for neuronal protection during both aging and neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Tsai is a recipient of the Young Investigator Award, Metropolitan Life Foundation, Outstanding Contributor Award of the Alzheimer Research Forum, the NIH Cantoni Lecture Award and the Glenn Award For Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Neurodegeneration Consortium and Taiwan’s Academia Sinica. Dr. Tsai has authored and co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed articles published in Nature, Cell, Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, The Journal of Neuroscience, Nature Neuroscience, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her research has been featured in National Geographic and the Boston Globe.

Dr. George Perry is a neuroscientist and Dean of the College of Sciences and Professor of Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Perry is recognized in the field of Alzheimer's disease research particularly for his work on oxidative stress.

Dr. Perry’s studies are focused on the mechanism of formation and physiological consequences of the cytopathology of Alzheimer disease. The lab has shown that oxidative damage is the initial cytopathology in Alzheimer disease. They are working to determine the sequence of events leading to neuronal oxidative damage and the source of the increased oxygen radicals. Current studies focus on the:

• Mechanism for RNA-based redox metal binding
• Consequences of RNA oxidation on protein synthesis rate and fidelity
• Role of redox active metals in mediating prooxidant and antioxidant properties
• Signal transduction pathways altered in Alzheimer disease that allow neurons to evade apoptosis
• Mechanism of phosphorylation control of oxidative damage to neurofilament proteins

A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine in 1983, Dr. Lozano underwent Neurosurgical Training at McGill University. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1990. During his residency in Montreal, Dr. Lozano earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine in 1989. Dr. Lozano joined the Neurosurgical Staff at the Toronto Western Hospital in 1991. He is currently Professor in the Department of Surgery, and inaugural Chair Holder of the Ron Tasker Chair in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at the University Health Network. He also holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience. His main research and clinical interests lie in the field of the neurosurgical treatment of movement disorders and micro-electrode recordings of the human brain.

Álvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, is Professor of Neurology and an Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Harvard Medical School. He serves as Chief for the Division of Cognitive Neurology and the Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Pascual-Leone received his M.D. in 1984 and his Ph.D. in Neurophysiology in 1985, both from Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany. Following an internship in Medicine at Staedtisches Klinikum Karlsruhe in Germany and residency in Internal Medicine at Hospital Universitario de Valencia in Spain, Dr. Pascual-Leone completed a Neurology residency at the University of Minnesota, and then trained in Clinical Neurophysiology and Human Motor Control at the University of Minnesota and the National Institutes of Health. He joined Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 1997, after several years at the Cajal Institute of the Spanish Research Council.

Dr. Pascual-Leone's research aims at understanding the mechanisms that control brain plasticity across the life span to be able to modify them for the patient's optimal behavioral outcome, prevent age-related cognitive decline, reduce the risk for dementia, and minimize the impact of neurodevelopmental disorders (http://www.brainfitclub.org). Dr. Pascual-Leone is a world leader in the field of noninvasive brain stimulation where his contributions span from technology development, through basic neurobiologic insights from animal studies and modeling approaches, to human proof-of-principle and multicenter clinical trials. His research has been fundamental in establishing the field of therapeutic brain stimulation. His work has provided evidence for the efficacy of noninvasive brain stimulation in treating various neurologic and psychiatric conditions, including epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson disease, chronic pain, autism, and drug-resistant depression. Dr. Pascual-Leone has authored more than 600 scientific papers as well as several books, and is listed inventor in several patents. His work is highly regarded for its innovation and quality and is highly cited. Dr. Pascual-Leone ranks number 1 among authors worldwide in the specific field of "Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation" and "Noninvasive Brain Stimulation" (http://www.authoratory.com/) and has an H-index of 130.

Dr. Pascual-Leone is the recipient of several international honors and awards, including the Ramón y Cajal Award in Neuroscience (Spain), the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany), and the Jean-Louis Signoret Prize from the Ipsen Foundation (France). He is an elected member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Science (Farmacia). His work also has wide general public appeal and outreach through dissemination in articles in the lay press (Time Magazine, Newsweek, New Scientist, National Geographic) and documentaries on television and radio (Scientific American, 60 minutes, CNN, BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, etc.). Dr. Pascual-Leone is a dedicated mentor, recognized with a K24 NIH award and various distinctions, including the Daniel Federman Outstanding Clinical Educator Award from Harvard Medical School. He directs an intensive mini-fellowship in noninvasive brain stimulation at HMS that has trained over 400 people in the past 10 years, and the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation Fellowship in the Clinical Neurosciences.

Professor John T O'Brien studies are focused on dementia include the role of biomarkers, especially MRI, SPECT and PET imaging, in the differential and early diagnosis of dementia, including identifying those ‘at risk’ of future cognitive decline and developing markers of disease progression. These imaging biomarkers are being applied to cohorts of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body dementia and Vascular Cognitive impairment. His other main research interest is in late-life depression, especially the role of vascular and inflammatory factors in precipitating and perpetuating depression in late-life and the ability of vascular interventions to improve or prevent depressive and cognitive symptoms.

Professor John T O'Brien is also Associate Director and National Dementia Lead for the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network (DeNDRoN) and we undertake a number of clinical studies in dementia, including trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological management.

The research in his lab revolves around the question of how neuromodulators shape the excitability of basal ganglia and frontal cortex neurons. These two areas share a rich monoaminergic innervation arising from the mesencephalon and medulla. Disorders in monoaminergic signaling in these forebrain structures have been implicated in a wide variety of psychomotor disorders including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, Huntington's disease, schizophrenia, drug abuse, depression and Tourette's syndrome. There are several ongoing projects in his lab. All of them are ultimately interested in determining how dopamine or serotonin changes neural activity. Unlike neurotransmitters, neuromodulators like dopamine influence neuronal activity by altering the properties of voltage-dependent and ligand-gated membrane channels. This is accomplished by G-protein coupled receptors that activate intracellular enzyme cascades. There are several obstacles to the characterization of these pathways and their cellular consequences. One is the molecular heterogeneity of participating proteins. Another is the difficulty in gaining a quantitative description of changes in channel behavior. To overcome these obstacles, we use a combination of electrophysiological, biochemical and molecular strategies. Patch clamp techniques are used to quantitatively characterize the impact of receptor activation on ion channels. Biochemical techniques are used to identify the enzymes and signaling molecules linking receptor and channel. Molecular techniques, such as single cell mRNA amplification, are used to 'fingerprint' neurons subjected to electrophysiological and biochemical analysis. These single cell mRNA profiles allow us not only to determine the molecular identity of elements in a particular signaling cascade but also to determine the broader functional class to which a studied neuron belongs. The combination of these techniques has enabled his lab to make great strides in understanding the impact of neuromodulators, like dopamine, on forebrain function in recent years and will hopefully lead to new strategies for normalizing their signaling in disease states.

Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is a Professor of Neurology and holder of the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Neurology at Harvard University. At the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Dr. Tanzi serves as the Vice-Chair of Neurology (Research) and Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, which consists of eight laboratories investigating the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Tanzi has been investigating the molecular and genetic basis of neurological disease since 1980, when he participated in the pioneering study that led to location of the Huntington's disease gene, the first disease gene to be found by genetic linkage analysis. Since 1982, Dr. Tanzi has investigated the genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD). He co-discovered all three genes that cause early-onset familial AD, including the first familial AD gene, known as the amyloid ß-protein (A4) precursor (APP), and the presenilin genes. In 1993, Dr. Tanzi discovered the gene responsible for the neurological disorder known as Wilson's disease, and over the past 25 years, he has collaborated on studies identifying several other disease genes including those causing neurofibromatosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and autism. Dr. Tanzi currently spearheads the Alzheimer’s Genome Project, which identified several other AD gene including CD33, which plays a role in modulating neuroinflammation in AD. This achievement was named one of the “Top Ten Medical Breakthroughs of 2008” by Time Magazine. In 1994, Dr. Tanzi discovered that the metals, zinc and copper are necessary for the formation of neurotoxic assemblies of the Aß peptide, the main component of ß-amyloid deposits in brains of AD patients. Based on this discovery, Dr. Tanzi developed the “Metal hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease”, which has led to clinical trials for treating and preventing AD by targeting Aß-metal interactions (Prana Biotechnology, LTD; co-founder). Dr. Tanzi is also developing a potent class of gamma secretase modulators for preventing and treating AD as well as therapies aimed at targeting the genes, CD33 and TREM2, to curb neuroinflammation in AD. In 2014, Dr. Tanzi, Dr. Se Hoon Choi, and Dr. Doo-Yeon Kim reported the first in vitro model recapitualting AD neuropathology and showing that beta-amyloid can induce neurofibrillary tangles using human stem cell-derived neural cultures grown in three-dimensional culture systems.

Dr. Tanzi is one of the ten most cited researchers in AD, having co-authored over 475 research articles. He is also listed by Thomson Reuter as one of the top 1% of researchers in the field of neuroscience. He is also a co-author the popular book “Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease”, the New York Times best seller, "Super Brain", and "Super Genes". Dr. Tanzi has received several awards for his work, including the two highest awards for Alzheimer’s disease research: The Metropolitan Life Foundation Award and The Potamkin Prize. He has also received the Reagan National Alzheimer’s Disease Research Award, an NIH MERIT Award, and the “Oneness of Humanity” Global Award, and the Rustum Roy Spirit Award. He is an AAAS Fellow and was included on the list of the “Harvard 100: Most Influential Alumni” of over 220,000 living alumni. In 2015 he was included on the TIME magazine list, “TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World”, and has been acknowledged by as one of the "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds”, 2014” by Reuters-Thompson, and named one of the "Top 20 Translational Scientists, 2013" by Nature Biotechnology. He received the 2015 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, the highest honor for innovation and invention in the U.S.A. His invited honorary lectures include a Nobel Forum Lecture, Smithsonian Institution Distinguished Lecture, and the Society for Neuroscience Public Lecture. Dr. Tanzi is the Chairman of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Research Consortium and serves on over 40 editorial and scientific advisory boards.

Hanna Damásio M.D. is University Professor, Dana Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center at the University of Southern California. Using computerized tomography and magnetic resonance scanning, she has developed methods of investigating human brain structure and studied functions such as language, memory and emotion, using both the lesion method and functional neuroimaging. Besides numerous scientific articles (her Web of Knowledge H Index is 74; over 25,000 citations) she is the author of the award-winning Lesion Analysis in Neuropsychology (Oxford University Press), and of Human Brain Anatomy in Computerized Images (also Oxford University Press), the first brain atlas based on computerized imaging data, now in its second edition. Hanna Damásio is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Neurological Association. She shared the Signoret Prize and the Pessoa Prize with Antonio Damásio, and, among others, holds honorary doctorates from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Universities of Aachen and Lisbon, and the Open University of Catalonia. In January 2011, she was named USC University Professor. The Center she directs works closely with the Brain and Creativity Institute.

Antonio Damásio is University Professor, David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Professor of Psychology, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California; he is also an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. Damásio has made seminal contributions to the understanding of brain processes underlying, emotions, feelings, decision-making and consciousness. He is the author of numerous scientific articles (his Google scholar H Index is 144; over 129,000 citations) and his research has received continuous Federal funding for 30 years. He is the recipient of many awards (including the Grawemeyer Award, 2014; the Honda Prize, 2010; the Asturias Prize in Science and Technology, 2005; and the Signoret Prize, 2004, which he shared with his wife Hanna Damásio). Damásio is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has been named “Highly Cited Researcher” by the Institute for Scientific Information, and also holds Honorary Doctorates from several Universities. He has described his discoveries in several books (Descartes’ Error, The Feeling of What Happens, Looking for Spinoza. and Self Comes to Mind) translated and taught in universities worldwide.

Professor Sarah Tabrizi graduated in biochemistry and medicine in Edinburgh, and was awarded the University Prize for Biological Sciences for BSc for highest First class degree, and 9 other prizes at the University of Edinburgh Medical School including the Gold Medal for most distinguished MBChB graduate and the Hewlett-Packard Prize for top Scottish Graduate. Professor Tabrizi has worked on research into neurodegenerative diseases since her PhD as an MRC clinical training fellow at UCL (1996 – 1999). After near-completion of her clinical training in neurology and neurogenetics (1999-2003), she was successful in obtaining a Department of Health National Clinician Scientist Fellowship in the Dept of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology in 2002. Professor Tabrizi was made a UCL Clinical Senior Lecturer and Hon. Consultant Neurologist in 2003, and promoted to Reader in 2007 and Professor in 2009. In the last 5 years, she has generated over £10 million grant funding for her research from MRC, EU FP7, Wellcome Trust, CHDI Foundation, and other charities. Since establishing her own independent research group in 2003, she has published over 200 peer-reviewed publications including senior-author papers in high impact journals such as Journal of Clinical Investigation, Molecular Cell, Lancet Neurology (2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013), Nature Communications, Journal of Experimental Medicine, EMBO Journal, and PNAS. She was elected a Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2014. Her research has been the subject of a review article in New England Journal of Medicine, scientific articles in The Economist, Lancet Neurology, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology and Scientific American, and a personal profile in The Lancet (June 2012) and has had widespread lay media coverage and serves on executive advisory and review panels including the UK HD association, the European HD Network and to NINDS/NIH, and the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group for Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience.

At UCL’s Institute of Neurology, Professor Sarah Tabrizi leads a synergistic research programme in neurodegeneration from basic cellular mechanisms of protein misfolding to translational clinical research. She has had a major research interest in Huntington’s disease (HD) since her PhD, and her team is spearheading a major effort to develop and test new disease-modifying therapies for HD. Professor Tabrizi is global clinical PI for the Ionis Pharmaceuticals ASO HTT Rx trial which is a first into human clinical trial testing a huntingtin lowering (sometimes called ‘gene silencing’) drug for Huntington’s disease. Her work leading TRACK-HD, an international study to understand the neurobiology of HD, has already identified biomarkers of disease progression that track the earliest phase of the neurodegenerative disease process in clinically-well individuals who carry the HD expansion mutation and those with early disease symptoms. Her work at the laboratory level aims to translate these approaches to patients within the next few years. She also identified a key role for the innate immune system in the pathogenesis of HD that has given rise to important new avenues for research into biomarkers and disease-modifying therapies for HD. Professor Tabrizi’s research programme is translating HD research directly from the lab to patients with a programme that is ultimately aimed at preventing the neurodegenerative disease process itself.

Dr. Gan studies the molecular mechanisms behind the loss of functional neurons in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal Dementia. Her lab explores the relationship between the aging of neural circuits, the accumulation of toxic proteins and the subsequent activation of a chronic inflammatory response. Understanding how these processes become dysfunctional in neurodegeneration could lead to new therapeutic strategies to tackle Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal dementia. One aspect of Dr. Gan’s research focuses on why toxic proteins accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer patients. Dr. Gan and her team discovered new cellular mechanisms that could lead to novel approaches to remove toxic proteins from aging neurons. Dr. Gan’s research also explores stem cell–based regenerative approaches in Alzheimer’s disease—a promising yet highly challenging therapeutic direction. She showed that neural stem cells in the hippocampus of mice genetically modified to mimic Alzheimer’s symptoms develop abnormally and integrate poorly into the network of neural circuits. More importantly, Dr. Gan and her colleagues found that they can offset these deficits by manipulating electrical signals with pharmacological approaches. Their research provides important clues to encourage the development of new brain cells in those with Alzheimer’s disease.

At UCSF, Dr. Gan is active in graduate training and has joint appointments in the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. She is also a member of several scientific and professional societies, including the Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Gan has served as a referee for several government and private grant agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the California Department of Health Services. She is also an ad hoc reviewer for numerous professional journals including Neuron, Nature Medicine, Journal of Neuroscience, and Journal of Cell Biology.

Dr. Gan received a bachelor’s degree in physiology from China’s Peking University and a PhD in cellular and molecular physiology from Yale University School of Medicine. Later, she completed postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Gladstone Institutes.

Professor Maria Grazia Spillantini is Professor of Molecular Neurology at the University of Cambridge. She has made valuable contributions to the molecular genetics and neuropathology of human neurodegenerative disease. Maria Grazia has been instrumental in systematically characterising abnormal intracellular proteins and understanding how they contribute to damage of neurones and glia. Her work has led to many neurodegenerative diseases being classified as alpha-synucleinopathies or tauopathies, reflecting a more precise molecular description of their pathology. These findings are expected to open up many therapeutic opportunities for preventing or disaggregating these lethal protein accumulations.

Professor John O'Keefe is an American-British neuroscientist and a professor at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour and the Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at University College London. He is known for his discovery of place cells in the hippocampus and his discovery that they show a specific kind of temporal coding in the form of theta phase precession. In 2014, he received the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience "for the discovery of specialized brain networks for memory and cognition", together with Brenda Milner and Marcus Raichle. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014 together with May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser.

Richard Axel, M.D. is a molecular biologist and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work on the olfactory system won him and Linda Buck, a former postdoctoral research scientist in his group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004. Dr. Axel is also University Professor and professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, of neuroscience, and of pathology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is co-director of the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and a member of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University.

Richard Axel's laboratory is interested in the representation of olfactory information in the brain and the neural mechanisms that translate these representations into appropriate innate and learned behavioral responses. A randomly distributed population of sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium is consolidated into a discrete stereotyped map of neural activity in the olfactory bulb. Stereotyped projections from the olfactory bulb to the cortical amygdala mediate innate aversive and appetitive behavioral responses to odors. Distributed, unstructured projections to the piriform cortex implicate this cortical structure as a mediator of learned olfactory behavior. Random input to pyramidal neurons of the cortex allows the organism to contextualize a rich diversity of novel sensory experiences, a feature consistent with the role of this brain center in mediating learned olfactory associations and behavior. Our studies reveal that the anatomic organization and functional logic of olfactory circuits in Drosophila is remarkably similar to the olfactory system of mammals, despite the 600 million years of evolution that separate the two organisms.

President of the Administration of the Psychiatric Hospital Magalhães Lemos, since 1997, and invited professor with the regency of Psychiatry of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar of the University of Porto, since 1998. Doctor in medicine, psychiatrist and postgraduate in Business Administration.

He has participated in numerous national and international scientific meetings and international meetings of the OECD, WHO-Europe and European Union.

He coordinated the International Symposium 'Dementia: the other side of the mirror', sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (2010). Co-editor of "Psychogeriatria" (2006) and co-author of "Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in Portugal" (2005). Author of presentations and national and international articles, he has been part of several jurors of medical career, doctorate and master of ICBAS and FCM-UNL.

Medical doctor specialized in geriatric medicine with focus on dementia. Currently, Headmaster and CEO of Stiftelsen Silviahemmet founded by H.M. Queen Silvia,– a foundation focusing on best dementia care and education for quality of life. President of the Swedish Dementia Centre, the Swedish national competence centre for dementia, financed by The National Board of Health and Welfare.

Focus is dementia care for quality of life by development of education programs for professionals in health- and social care. Academic programs in corporation with the Karolinska Institutet and the Sophiahemmet Högskola. Free of charge web-based education programs connected to the national guidelines for best praxis. Accreditation system of education level in dementia care for units in health- and social care. Education programs and information material for persons with dementia and their families. Different projects and activities are also promoted by the two centres aiming at changing attitudes - toward a more dementia friendly society. SilviaBo - the most recent project aims at creating possibilities for persons with dementia to be able to stay longer in own housing. The apartments are built with knowhow about cognitive problems for safety and independence together with a IKEA and BoKlok, experts of interior design and housebuilding.

Eduardo Moreno was born and studied molecular biology in Madrid. He did his PhD on homeotic genes at the laboratory of Gines Morata at the Molecular Biology Center Severo Ochoa in Madrid. After his PhD he stayed one more year in Gines Morata´s lab to start the molecular and genetic study of cell competition. He then took that project with him to do a postdoc in Zurich in the laboratory of Konrad Basler. In 2005 Eduardo started his own lab in Madrid at the Spanish National Cancer Center (CNIO) where his team and him discovered the existence of fitness fingerprints in the surface of animal cells in the context of research funded by a ERC starting grant. Since 2011 until 2016 he was a Professor and group leader at the IZB of the University of Bern, where he was awarded an ERC consolidator grant to study the molecular mechanisms of cell selection based on "fitness fingerprints" during development, cancer, ageing and neurobiology. Since 2016 he is a group leader at the Champalimaud Research Programme, where they have uncovered a connection between fitness-based neuronal selection and Alzheimer's Disease.

Doctora en Sociología por la Universidad de Zaragoza.

Experta universitaria en Políticas de Inclusión por la UNED.

Presidenta de la Confederación Española de Alzheimer (CEAFA) desde enero del 2016.

Desde el año 2000 desarrollo mi trabajo como voluntaria en el movimiento asociativo, específicamente con las asociaciones de familiares de alzhéimer. Actualmente soy también presidenta de la Asociación de Familiares de Alzheimer de Zaragoza (AFEDAZ) y vicepresidenta de la federación aragonesa de asociaciones de alzhéimer (Alzheimer Aragón)

Dr Ioannis (John) Sotiropoulos is FCT Investigador - Group Leader at the ICVS Institute of Medical School, University of Minho in Portugal.

His research work focuses on understanding the orchestrating role of environmental risk factors (e.g. chronic stress) on the onset of Alzheimer´s disease (AD) with specific focus on the relationship between AD and depression, a stress-related disorder. Dr Sotiropoulos has molecular, electrophysiological and behavioral expertise on Tau protein and its involvement of pathological brain aging. He has previously trained and worked at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Germany), Columbia University (USA), RIKEN-Brain Science Institute (Japan), MRC Center for Synaptic Plasticity (UK) and Medical School of Athens (Greece). He has received different prizes and awards such as Hirlinga Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation, AD/PD 2015 Young Faculty Award and European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Fellowship Award, Canon Foundation Award, Hanssen Prize 2016.