Parkinson's Disease In The Crossfire 2009

Chairman Emeritus, Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
Chief of the Neurology Service at the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY

Dr. Olanow received his medical degree from the University of Toronto, performed his neurology training at the New York Neurological Institute at Columbia University, and did post-graduate studies in neuroanatomy at Columbia University. He served on the faculties of McGill University, Duke University, and the University of South Florida prior to assuming his present position. Dr. Olanow has authored more than 300 publications primarily related to Parkinson's Disease and neurodegeneration. He is past President of the Movement Disorder Society and past Treasurer of the American Neurological Association. He has served on numerous editorial and scientific advisory boards and has lectured at Universities and Conferences throughout the world.

Director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center,
Parker Family Professor of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Stern is also Director of the Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Philadelphia Veteran's Hospital. The Center at Penn is one of the largest of its type in the country and has a long track record of achievement in clinical trials and experimental therapeutics. Dr. Stern has authored or co-authored numerous papers on Parkinson's disease and edited or co-edited 8 books. He has served on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Neurology's Movement Disorders Section and is a member of the American Neurological Association. He has held several leadership positions in the International Movement Disorders Society and is currently secretary-elect. In addition to serving as institutional investigator for numerous clinical trials, Dr. Stern has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator of many studies related to Parkinson's disease. He serves on numerous consulting boards and has lectured throughout the world on Parkinson's and related disorders.

CEO, Scientific Director, and Founder of the Parkinson's Institute,
Sunnyvale, CA

A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Dr. Langston served as a faculty member at Stanford University Medical School and Chairman of Neurology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA before founding the Parkinson's Institute. Dr. Langston is internationally recognized for the discovery of the link between a chemical known as MPTP and Parkinsonism, which led to the development of a new model for the study of Parkinson's Disease, and stimulated great interest in the possibility that environmental factors play a role in causing the disease. His current research interests include the study of mechanisms of neuronal degeneration, the etiology of Parkinson's Disease, and developing new strategies to slow or halt disease progression. Dr. Langston has published over 300 papers on Parkinson's Disease and related disorders, and has received many awards for his work. The most recent of these was the Donald Caine Lectureship International Award 2008. Dr. Langston serves on numerous advisory boards, including the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research, and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Professor of Neurology and Community and Preventive Medicine,
Director of the Center for Human Experimental Therapeutics,
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY

Dr. Kieburtz' primary clinical and research interests are in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases affecting the basal ganglia, particularly Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, and HIV-related neurologic disorders. He has been an active participant in the research activities of the Parkinson Study Group since 1989, and currently is Chair of the Executive Committee. He is the principal investigator for the NINDS-sponsored program (NET-PD) of neuroprotective agents for PD. He currently serves on the International Executive Committee of the Movement Disorders Society and as Chair of the FDA Peripheral and Central Nervous System Advisory Committee. His publications and presentations have focused on experimental therapeutics and clinical research design strategies.

Director, Research Center for Brain Repair,
The Jean-Schweppe Armour Professor of Neurological Sciences,
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL

Dr. Jeffrey Kordower is a leading researcher in the fields of gene therapy, neural transplantation, nonhuman primate models of neurodegenerative disease and experimental therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. In 1995, he made the pioneering demonstration that fetal transplants can survive in patients with Parkinson's disease; a paper that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In 2000, he published the lead article in Science, demonstrating for the first time that gene delivery of a trophic factor called GDNF can prevent degeneration and restore function in nonhuman primate models of Parkinson's disease. Dr. Kordower is a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) Member for numerous biotechnology companies and foundations, including a founding member of the SAB for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Currently his main interests involve gene therapy and cell replacement strategies using stem cells in rodent and nonhuman primate models of Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.