Neurology

Scientific Committee

for Neurology

Ashley Bush

Melbourne Dementia Research Centre
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
University of Melbourn
Victoria, Australia
Biography

Diego Centonze

University of Rome . Tor Vergata
Rome, Italy
Biography

· Ashley Bush ·

Ashley Bush is the Director of the Melbourne Dementia Research Centre and Head of the Oxidation Biology Unit. He has made outstanding contributions to the neuroscience field, most notably his discovery of the importance of metal biology in neurodegenerative brain diseases.  The impact of his work has moved the field of neurodegeneration towards an appreciation for an underlying disturbance in brain metal homeostasis, and has provided insights into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as well as other brain diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.

His leadership has led to the development of new predictive tests for AD and innovative, potentially disease-modifying strategies based on his research.  He is Chief Scientific Officer for the Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health (Parkville), and Co-Director of Biomarker Development for The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Ageing (AIBL). He is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, and holds courtesy staff appointments in Psychiatry and Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.

· Diego Centonze ·

Diego Centonze is Full Professor of Neurology at the Department of Systems Medicine of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the Unit of Neurology at the IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy. He also leads the Synaptic Immunopathology Laboratory at Tor Vergata University. His major clinical interest involves the evaluation of new drugs for the treatment of MS. His research interests are related to the role of inflammatory neurodegeneration and synaptic damage in the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis and of its experimental mouse model (EAE).

He is Principal Investigator of many phase II, III and IV national and international trials with new therapeutic agents for MS, AD, PD, narcolepsy, HD, and member of advisory boards of Pharmaceutical Industries for treatment optimization in Multiple Sclerosis. Member of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), of the Italian Neurological Society (SIN), of the Italian Neuroscience Society (SINS), of the Italian Neuroimmunonology Association (AINI) Council, of the Medical Academy of Rome, of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS).

Prof. Centonze is author of around 400 peer-reviewed papers published in international journals of Neuroscience, Neurology and Psychiatry.