National Expert Motor Neuron Diseases Center, University of Novara
Provisional title: “Stem cell strategies and cell products in motor neuron diseases”

Letizia Mazzini is a neurologist, Director of the Tertiary ALS Center at the University of Novara The main scientific interests are in the field of basic and clinical research on motor neuron diseases. She cooperated as investigator in many multicenter therapeutic trials in ALS. Head of the first phase 1 study authorized by the Italian Institute of Health on clinical application of mesenchymal autologous stem cells in ALS and clinical coordinator of the phase 1 and phase II clinical studies on neural fetal stem cell transplantation in ALS. She has authored or co-authored 142 papers on peer-reviewed international journals, as well as books, edited books, e-books. She received more than 3323 citations, with h-index = 32 (Sources: ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus). She acted as reviewer for several journals in the fields of ALS. Actually member of the Italian neurological society subgroup on MND and of the scientific advisory board of the Italian ALS Association.

PhD, D.Sc, (Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences in Manchester)
Provisional title: "Astroglia in cognitive disorders: do human iPSCS-derived cells hold the key?"

Member of Academia Europaea (2003), Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2013), Member of Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia of Spain (2012), member of The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives (2012). He joined the Division of Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences in Manchester in September 1999, became a Professor of Neurophysiology in 2002 and served as Head of the said Division from 2002 to 2004. From 2007 to 2010 he was appointed as a visitor professor/Head of Department of Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of Check Republic. Alexei also serves as a Research Professor of the Ikerbasque (Basque Research Council) in Bilbao, where, from 2012, he acts as Adjunct Scientific Director of the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience; from 2011 he is as a Honorary Visitor Professor at Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. Alexei is the editor-in-chief of Cell Calcium, Receiving Editor of Cell Death & Disease and member of editorial boards of many journals including Pflugers Archiv European Journal of Physiology, Glia, Purinergic Signalling, ASN Neuro &c.

Division of Stem Cell Biology and Histology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
http://www.nm-gcoe.med.tohoku.ac.jp/english/investigators/dezawa/

Tissue stem cells are present in every adult tissue and generally exist in a dormant state. When a tissue undergoes stress or is in a critical state, the inherent stem cells are activated by an as yet-to-be-defined signal to re-enter the cell cycle for self-renewal and differentiation into cells that aid in reconstruction of that tissue. In this manner, tissue stem cells participate in maintenance of homeostasis at the cell- or tissue-level. In our research, we seek to clarify how the signals aroused from neighboring cells or from other tissues regulate the maintenance, proliferation and differentiation of tissue stem cells, and how the tissue stem cell network is related to the maintenance of vital tissue functions. Our ultimate goal is to develop stem cell biology from a new perspective. By identifying multi-potential stem cells contained in the bone marrow stromal cell population that can be experimentally manipulated to differentiate into cells that have the potential to trans-differentiate and contribute to the repair of other tissue types, we believe we are making unique contributions to stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.

The Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, Poland
Provisional title: Efficacy and safety of the use of autologic adipose derived regenerative cells (ADRC) in pediatric patients with an autoimmune determined refractory epilepsy.



Associate professor of Pediatric Neurology, general neurologist, epileptologist
Professional affiliation:
Head of Clinic of Neurology of Children and Adolescents,
Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, Poland
Member of The Scientific Board of the Institute of Mother and Child Member of the Managing Board of the Polish Society of Child Neurologists
Member of Polish Society of Epileptologii Vice-President of Warsaw Division of the Polish Society of Child Neurologists
Lecturer of Medical Centre for Postgraduate Education in Warsaw.

Stanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, California

Professor and Director of the Program in Development & Regenrative Cell Biology (the Stem Cell Program) at the Burnham Institute, coordinator of the Southern California Stem Cell Consortium, a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics, and Director of the Basic Science Program in Neonatology at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on stem cell biology (including human), neurobiology, animal models of disease states, and transplantation. Dr. Snyder is also board certified in pediatrics, neurology (with special competence in children), and neonatology (newborn intensive care) having completed his clinical post-graduate training at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital-Boston. He continues to be clinically active in all these disciplines. He received PhD in neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Dept. of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

STUDIED on Warsaw Medical University

CAREER:
from 1966 employed in Mossakowski’s Medical Research Center (MMRC) of Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS).
1986- 1996 Associated Professor in Department of Neurochemistry,
1996- 2000 Chief of Molecular Neuropathology Unit
2000- 2011 Organizer and Director of NeuroRepair Department in MMRC.