Roxana Carare is a Professor in Clinical Neuroanatomy in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton. Initially trained as a clinical doctor, she specializes in the anatomy of the brain and holds a PhD in experimental neuropathology and neuroanatomy. She has received international recognition for discovering the lymphatic drainage pathways of the brain that are responsible for clearing waste from the brain and become clogged up in Alzheimer’s disease. She heads the international Carare research group, which has conducted groundbreaking research on the clearance of beta amyloid from the brain. Her research is funded by a number of organizations, including BBSRC, EPSRC, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Stroke Association, Rosetrees.

Meryl Comer is President and CEO of Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative, which promotes early diagnosis, virtual innovation challenges, m-health technologies and national public service campaigns.

A co-founder of Women Against Alzheimer’s and founding partner of The Global Alliance on Women’s Brain Health, she has provided testimony and served on the bi-partisan Alzheimer’s Study Group, charged with presenting a National Strategic Plan to the U.S. Congress in March 2009. In 2012, she led the formation of the 21st Century BrainTrust®, a non-profit partnership to advance mobile health technologies and brain health. Comer is also co-principal investigator for the PCORI Alzheimer’s Patient/Caregiver Research Network in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, UCSF’s Brain Health Registry, and USAgainstAlzheimer’s Networks.

A former veteran broadcast journalist, Comer’s New York Times bestseller, Slow Dancing with a Stranger supports Alzheimer’s research.

Brad Dickerson, M.D., is the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Neuroimaging Lab in Boston. He is also a staff behavioral neurologist in the MGH Memory Disorders Unit and co-investigator on the Neuroimaging Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Dickerson runs a busy weekly clinic caring for patients with various forms of cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as providing training for clinical and research fellows. His research employs quantitative structural, functional, and molecular neuroimaging techniques to investigate dementias as well as normal aging. He has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as many book chapters, and has edited two books on dementia. He has won a number of awards, including the American Academy of Neurology’s Norman Geschwind Award in Behavioral Neurology.

Bill Fisher is CEO of Pedago, an educational technology company. Bill is an online education pioneer, having co-founded the online English school Englishtown.com (now EF English Live) and leading that company to $350 million in revenue and over 2000 staff across 14 countries. Fisher has a degree in Computer Science from Brown University and is an advisor to several early-stage startups.

Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa has captured a special place in contemporary fiction, writing stories that are equally inspired by neuroscience and the human spirit. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens and Every Note Still Played. Still Alice was adapted into a film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish. Julianne Moore won the 2015 Best Actress Oscar for her role as Alice Howland. In 2015, Lisa was named one of the U.S. Top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next Avenue. She has appeared on Dr. Oz, the TODAY show, CNN, PBS Newshour and NPR.

Barry Greenberg has been involved in Alzheimer’s disease research and drug discovery since 1985. He is currently Director of Neuroscience Drug Discovery and Development at the University Health Network and Strategy Director of the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance, a consortium involving academic research and five memory clinics at hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto. Dr. Greenberg helped draft the scientific recommendations for the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) in the U.S. in 2012, and chaired the Executive Committee for the Alzheimer’s Research Summit at the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) in February 2015. He was recently appointed by the NIA to chair an international committee to strategize the structure of the Alzheimer’s Research Center network in the U.S. contribute to achieving the goals of the US National Plan on dementia. He has authored or co-authored over 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 19 book chapters and reviews.

Dr. Marwan Sabbagh is a board certified neurologist and geriatric neurologist, as well as one of the leading experts in Alzheimer’s and dementia. He is the Camille and Larry Ruvo Endowed Chair for Brain Health and the director of the Cleveland Clinic – Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada. Previously, he served as the director of the Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Division at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has also been a professor of neurology. He is a leading investigator for many national Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment trials, including Alzheimer immunotherapy studies. He is on the editorial board for Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and BMC Neurology and editor in chief of Neurology and Therapy. He has authored and co-authored almost 300 medical and scientific articles on Alzheimer’s research. He is the author of The Alzheimer’s Answer: Reduce Your Risk and Keep Your Brain Healthy and of The Alzheimer’s Prevention Cookbook: 100 Recipes to Boost Brain Health.

Dr. Glenn Smith is Chair and Elizabeth Faulk Professor of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. A board-certified neuropsychologist, Dr. Smith has authored or co-authored over 200 original articles, 14 book chapters, and 2 books. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska, and then completed a fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where he subsequently spent 25 years. He is the co-creator of the HABIT® Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking program, which is designed to benefit people diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). He is past president of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, and the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology, past Chair of the APA Committee on Aging, and is the principal investigator of a study titled ‘Comparative Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions to Prevent or Delay Dementia’.

Dr. Snyder is the Vice President for Research & Economic Development at the University of Rhode Island, where he is also a professor and scientist at the university’s Ryan Institute for Neuroscience. He serves as the Senior Associate Editor of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, and as the Editor-in-Chief for Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Dr. Snyder publishes regularly on neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, history of neuroscience and research ethics; and his clinical interests are focused on aging and dementia. From 1998 through 2005, Dr. Snyder was employed as a scientist, clinician and director at Pfizer Global Research & Development, where he led the development of novel compounds for the treatment of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Wendy Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University where she studies the effects of physical aerobic exercise on brain function. She is an award-winning scientist, thought leader, dynamic speaker and author of the popular book Healthy Brain Happy Life that was recently made into a PBS science special. Her TED talk was one of the top 2 most popular TED talks of 2018.

Dr. Tariot is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, with added qualifications in geriatrics. He served as a Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health and as faculty at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Since 2006, he has been at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, where he serves as Director. Dr. Tariot has investigated the diagnosis, therapy and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, and has published over 350 papers on these topics. He has led efforts to refine measures of behavioral changes in dementia and led multicenter trials of treatments for these.

Together with his colleague, Eric Reiman, he serves as co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative, an NIH-funded international program to study experimental therapies that may delay or even prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in people at high imminent risk. Dr. Tariot leads the Banner “Dementia Care Initiative,” a program designed to demonstrate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of standardized care for persons with dementia in a large health care system. He is a Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona and a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. His research affiliations include the NIA, the NIMH, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Jamie Tyrone has two copies of the ApoE4 gene, which puts her at a 91% lifetime risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease, along with 2% percent of the U.S. population. A trained nurse and former marketing executive, she is now a full-time advocate for Alzheimer’s research. She is the founder of B.A.B.E.S., “Beating Alzheimer’s by Embracing Science,” a non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s research. She is also a founding member of WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s (WA2), a movement of women – disproportionate victims of the disease as patients and caregivers – campaigning for a new approach to finding a cure and the adoption of a national plan for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. She has contributed recommendations to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) Advisory Council, set up by the Department of Health and Human Services, on their National Plan to address the prevention, care, management and public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.

George Vradenburg is the Chairman and Co-Founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2), a disruptive and catalytic force committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020. The UsA2 platform seeks to escalate the fight against Alzheimer’s through a broad range of powerful voices from various walks of life.

UsA2 serves as the convener of the only industry coalition dedicated to stopping Alzheimer’s — the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) on Alzheimer’s – as well as the co-convener of a 90+ member coalition of the Alzheimer’s-serving community — Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease.

As a result of his UsA2 work, George was appointed to the World Dementia Council by Prime Minister David Cameron in March, 2014.

In 2011, the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services named George to serve on the National Alzheimer’s Advisory Council on Research, Care and Services for the first-of-its-kind National Alzheimer’s Strategic Plan.

In 2013 George was appointed by Congress to the Long Term Care Commission charged with devising a comprehensive long term support and services plan for the United States.

Among other efforts, George has testified twice before the U.S. Congress regarding the Global Alzheimer’s pandemic; conceived and supported the Alzheimer’s Study Group; and, through the Vradenburg Foundation, has supported the Alzheimer’s Disease International World Alzheimer’s Reports and the National Institute of Health’s Global Alzheimer’s Research Summit.

George is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of Washington.

George received his B.A. from Oberlin College, magna cum laude, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude.

A former reporter for The New York Times, Phil Gutis has also served in senior communications roles for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2016, he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and has since written and spoken extensively about Alzheimer’s. In 2016, he served on the National Early Stage Advisory Group for the Alzheimer’s Association and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Association. He lives with his husband in New Hope, Pennsylvania, with a pack of dogs, two cats and a turtle.

Dr Jane Roskams is a neuroscientist, and recognised research innovator in understanding our brain’s “plasticity” during neurodegenerative disease and after injury. She is currently a professor at the Universities of British Columbia and Washington, working at the interface of mental health sciences, technology and data-driven impact, and she is a renowned collaboration catalyst – with a reputation for building bridges and creating working alliances across silo’d sectors. After fellowships in neuroscience and Alzheimer’s neuropathology at Johns Hopkins, her highly collaborative research group was supported for over 2 decades by national and international foundations from 7 different countries. She has led cross-functional teams at the interface of the academic, non-profit and governmental sectors for the Allen Institute, the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform, and the US BRAIN initiative. Through her leadership in the International Brain Research organization (IBRO) and International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF), she is regarded as a key leader internationally within the open data and citizen science movement. As an advisor to the White House OSTP and National Academies of Science and Medicine, Jane has also worked with the highest levels of government in policy, diversity and outreach education.

Dave Poritzky is the CEO of Envista Strategies, a boutique advisory and investment firm focusing on early-stage company growth and later-stage strategic challenges. He is also an Adjunct Professor for Business Communications at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Dave has also taught online Business Analytics courses at The Wharton School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge (UK) and IMD (Switzerland).

Dave served as an advisor and executive team member at News Deeply, a digital-media community platform, and spent almost a decade as part of the leadership team of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF), a leading advanced-energy research and data firm that was acquired by Bloomberg LP during his tenure there. Prior to joining NEF/BNEF in 2008, Dave served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Advisory Services at Eurasia Group, the premier political-risk research firm serving Wall Street and the corporate community. In the mid-1990s, he was Marketing Director for a supermarket joint venture in Vladivostok, Russia, where he also co-founded the fabled Vladirockstok music festival. Dave received a B.S. from Cornell University and an MBA/MA from the Wharton School and the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.