Keynote Speakers

AD Trial Design: Continuing Progress

Paul S. Aisen has conducted therapeutic research on Alzheimer’s disease for over 25 years. After graduating from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr Aisen received his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City and pursued his clinical training as a resident in the Department of Medicine at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, and in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. He completed his fellowship in the Division of Rheumatology at the New York University Medical Center before returning to Mount Sinai Hospital as chief resident in the Department of Medicine. Dr Aisen is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, with specialty certification in rheumatology. After 15 years on the faculty at Mount Sinai, Dr Aisen moved to Georgetown University, Washington, DC, in 1999 as professor in the departments of neurology and of medicine and became vice chair of the Department of Neurology in 2004. From 2007 until 2015 he was professor of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California, and Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study. At present he is Director of the University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, located in San Diego, California. Dr Aisen has collaborated extensively with the biotech and pharmaceutical industries for many years. He has led numerous multicenter trials, and has authored more than 300 scientific papers.

Alzheimer's disease: from Proteinopathy to Prevention

Randall Bateman, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, received BS degrees in Biology and Electrical Engineering from Washington University, and his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Bateman is the Director of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) which coordinates with pharmaceutical, regulatory, and patient advocacy groups for clinical trials in the DIAN. Dr. Bateman serves as Principal Investigator of the DIAN and the Washington University DIAN Performance Site. Dr. Bateman’s laboratory investigates causes and future diagnostic tests and treatments of Alzheimer's disease utilizing many assays and techniques from quantitative measurement of stable-isotope labeled proteins to clinical translational studies for Alzheimer's disease. Recent awards include the Glenn Award for Research (2011), the Metlife Promising Investigator Award (2012), the Chancellor’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award (2013), and the MetLife Award in Medical Research (2015).

Alzheimer's Association: Initiatives & Public Health Perspectives

Maria Carrillo is Chief Science Officer, Medical and Scientific Relations, at the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Carrillo has a wide range of responsibilities, including oversight of the Association’s grantmaking process and communication of scientific findings within and outside of the organization. Dr. Carrillo directly manages several Alzheimer’s Association initiatives, including the Research Roundtable, the World-Wide Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, and the Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network. She is co-author of the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association revised criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, and the Appropriate Use Criteria for Amyloid Imaging. She is on the Advisory Committee for the World Health Organization Dementia Setting Priorities & Portfolio Analysis.

What have we learned and what can we expect from brain imaging for Alzheimer trials

Nick Fox is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director of the Dementia Research Centre at UCL’s Institute of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square London. He has been involved in dementia research for over twenty years with particular interests in improving diagnosis and in using imaging biomarkers to accelerate the search for effective therapies.  His group’s research includes a number of multimodal longitudinal cohort studies in sporadic and familial AD, frontotemporal dementia and normal ageing.  Nick's first degree was in Physics and Physiology from Cambridge University.  He subsequently graduated with honours in medicine and surgery from the University of London and then specialised in cognitive neurology.  He is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an NIHR Senior Investigator.  He was a member of the Prime Minister’s Dementia Research Champions Group.   He has contributed to advisory boards or steering committees for a number of clinical trials and natural history studies in dementia.  He serves on the steering group of the Dementias Platform UK. He chairs UCL’s Dementia Strategy Board and co-chairs the Alzheimer’s Society UK’s Research Strategy Council.