Johan A Aarli
President, World Federation of Neurology (WFN)
Johan A Aarli
President, World Federation of Neurology (WFN)
Johan A Aarli is President of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), where he is also Chairman of the Public Relations & WHO Liaison Committee. He has been Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Bergen, Norway, since 1977. Since 2003, Dr Aarli is also Director of the Neuroclinic at Haukeland University Hospital. His main field of research is neuroimmunology, especially myasthenia gravis, and he has written 314 scientific papers and three books. Between 2002 and 2005, Dr Aarli was Secretary- General of the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS), prior to which he was Chairman of the Teaching Course Committee of EFNS. ■
Giuliano Avanzini
Past President, International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)
Giuliano Avanzini is Past President of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). He has been a member of the executive committee of the ILAE since 1993, where he previously held the positions of Vice- President and Treasurer. Professor Avanzini is Director of the Department of Experimental Research and Diagnosis at the National Neurological Institute Carlo Besta in Milan, Italy. His research interests have been focused on thalamo-cortical circuitry in epileptogenesis, the developmental aspects of epileptogenesis and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of epilepsy. At present, his group is particularly concentrating on the implication of sodium channels in normal and abnormal neuronal excitability. ■
Mary G Baker
President, European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA)
Mary G Baker is President of the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA), a position she was elected to in 1992 when the association was first formed. She is also President of the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), Vice-President of the European Brain Council (EBC), consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chair of the Working Group on Parkinson’s Disease formed by WHO. Ms Baker is Director at Large for the World Stroke Association, Chair of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Patient Advisory Group, a member of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) code of practice and a member of the management board of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). ■
Jean Georges
Executive Director, Alzheimer Europe
Jean Georges is the Executive Director for Alzheimer Europe and has been project manager of the various European projects run by the organisation. In 2005, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament as a patient representative to the management board of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). In 2004, Mr Georges was appointed to the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) task force for the revision of its dementia guidelines. In 2003, he was appointed to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Patient Advisory Group and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) working group with patient organisations and elected to the executive of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF). ■
Arne Hagen
President, Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE)
Arne Hagen is the President of the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE). He is also a board member of the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) and President of the Norwegian Stroke Association. Prior to his stroke in August 1997, he was a colonel in the Royal Norwegian Air Force. His service in the air force included Aide de Camp for HM King Olav, Commanding Officer at Bardufoss Air Force Station, Chief of the Foreign Liaison Office Norway and Branch Chief of the NATO headquarters in High Wycombe, UK. ■
Wolf-Dieter Heiss
Past President, European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS)
Wolf-Dieter Heiss is Past President of European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS). He is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University of Cologne and Director of the Department of General Neurology at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne, as well as a scientific member of the Max Planck Society. Previously, Dr Heiss was Head of the Clinical Scientific Branch of the Center for Cerebral Vascular Research of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and Director of the Department of Neurology of the City Hospital Cologne-Merheim. He is Past President of the International Stroke Society (ISS) and a member of many professional associations. ■
Siegfried Kasper
President, World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP)
Siegfried Kasper is President of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) for the term 2005–2009. He is also Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman of the Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He focuses on the biological bases of mental disorders and their possible treatment approaches and has conducted studies in psychopathological and clinical areas. Professor Kasper is a frequent speaker and is actively involved in research programmes studying depression, anxiety, psychosis and dementia. He is involved in World Health Organization (WHO) projects, is an advisor to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) and has authored more than 800 research reports. ■
Ioannis Milonas
President, European Neurological Society (ENS)
Ioannis Milonas is President of the European Neurological Society (ENS), as well as member of its executive committee. He is Professor of Neurology at the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Head of the University Department of Neurology at the AHEPA University Hospital. Moreover, Professor Milonas is a National Representative at the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), a member of the Association of British Neurologists (ABN) and the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and serves on the board of directors of the European Committee for Treatment and Research for Multiple Sclerosis. Professor Milonas has written more than 300 papers. ■
Gérard Said
Secretary-General, European Neurological Society (ENS)
Gérard Said is Secretary-General of the European Neurological Society (ENS), which he co-founded in 1986. He has also organised the yearly ENS congress since 1988. He has been Professor and Chief of the Service of Neurology of the University Hospital of Bicêtre since 1987. Starting in 2006, Professor Said is Director of the Research Group on Neuromuscular Disorders of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), and between 1998 and 2000 he was President of the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS). His main field of investigation is disorders of the peripheral nervous system, diabetic neuropathy, vasculitic neuropathy and infectious neuropathies. ■
Bruno Vellas
Principal Investigator, European Alzhiemer’s Disease Consortium (EADC)
Bruno Vellas is Principal Investigator (PI) of the European Alzhiemer’s Disease Consortium (EADC), the French National Network on Alzheimers (PHRC Réal.fr) and large international trials in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. He is Professor and Chief of the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Toulouse University Hospital, as well as Chief of the Alzheimer Disease Clinical Research Centre at the University of Toulouse. Professor Vellas has been involved in several studies on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) for over 15 years and has published more than 170 articles in the field. ■
